Unexpected Long Time Visitor
by Inu-midoriko
Summary: Edited Final Chapter! Cuddy takes in a little boy who's afraid of all men, big or small. What will House do to prove to the kid that not all men are big and scary? Huddy lovin'.
1. Give him a place to live

**An Inu-midoriko Production**

**Disclaimer: Don't own House. I don't even own the little boy that will be making an appearance. XD **

**A/N: Huddy forever kiddies!! HouseAddiction is my offical beta for this story and has edited this chapter and is making her way through the others. Give her a big round of applause! **

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Cuddy stormed from her office, after having just received a call from her head of surgeon's department. Apparently a certain diagnostician stopped a very critical surgery that took hours to prepare. The damn nerve of the man! He had harassed her for the damn procedure and now he was calling it off. Well, he had another thing coming if he thought he was going to stop it and expect her to do nothing about it.

The nurses kept out of her way when they caught the 'pissed off' vibe she was giving off. They could only assume it was House again…well…they more so _knew_ it was House. Their fast retreating boss only had that stride and look on her strikingly attractive face when House had caused a problem or a problem led to House.

They stopped staring at their boss when she entered the elevator, jammed the floor she sought with her finger and turned to them, silently knowing full well that they knew something was up and had been staring at her as she sashayed passed them.

When the doors opened, she immediately knew House wasn't there anymore but she decided to check just in case. She angrily made her way to House's office and swung the door open. House was seated at his desk, not even bothering to look up. He probably already knew she was coming for him.

"Are you intentionally dense?!" she yelled. She had used that same line before when they were arguing over amputating Alfredo's hand. She found she really needed the line again. Chase and Cameron, she guessed, were running tests and keeping an eye on their latest patient. Foreman, however, was in the joining conference room. She saw he had looked up from House's medical terms book upon hearing her outburst.

House, the only man that could get totally under her skin, sat there calmly looking at her with false interest. "Have I mentioned that you look incredibly sexy with that scowl on your face? And what makes this situation even better is that your sexy expression because of me."

The dark haired woman took in a breath and let it out as she straightened her back. She refused to grin at his comment and she was doing a damn good job too.

"You knew your patient was unstable. Why the hell would you stop the surgery?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe because I like to put my patient's life on the line or maybe it was because the surgery would have killed her considering she doesn't need it," replied House, leaning back on his chair swinging his cane.

Cuddy narrowed her eyes at him before turning on her heel and walking to the door. She stopped, suddenly remembering why she was there in the first place. "Don't go to the surgeon's department anymore without my consent," she hissed out and left without giving him a chance to reply back.

_Don't go to the surgeon's department anymore_ she says. Well, Lisa Cuddy had another thing coming if she thought he was going to do as he was told.

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The morning slowly disappeared into the afternoon and Cuddy was getting really tired just sitting at her desk, going through files and schedules. She stood up after peeling her heels from her feet and stretched. She had taken her black blazer off a while ago to now reveal a low, V cut, navy blue blouse. Her slim, knee high skirt, slitting up between her legs to her mid thighs, swayed with her body as she paced her office. She turned around to her door when she heard a knock.

"Uh, Dr. Cuddy? Is it all right if I take my lunch break now?" asked her secretary. Cuddy looked at her clock and saw that it was five minutes after twelve.

"Sure, just be back by one," replied Cuddy and turned back around and rubbed a hand threw her hair. A few moments went by before her door barged open without a knock, and this time she was sure it was House. When she turned around, House wasn't who she saw.

The boy looked as frightened as a rabbit about to be eaten by a fox. He had unruly, dark, wavy hair ruffed about his head, which looked greasy and uncombed. His wide brown eyes looked back into the hall and when he spotted the person he was hiding from, he ran and hid in the corner of the room.

"Can I help you?" asked Cuddy without missing the fear in his eyes. The boy remained silent and hid behind a couch. Cuddy was about to go over to him and ask for his name and where his parents were but a movement outside her door caught her eye. She turned her head to see a muscled man heading for her office. When he came in Cuddy got a clear view of his chubby, rugged face. He had a scar that went from one eye all the way to his nose.

Not forgetting her manners, Cuddy smiled at him. "Can I help you?" God, she sounded like a broken record asking that question twice in the last two minutes.

"I'm lookin' for mah boy. You seen 'im? He's 'bout four years ol', dark hair…"

Cuddy's eyes flickered to the movement behind her couch then back to the man who was at least six feet taller than her. Yeah she knew where he was, but she'd be damned if she'd let the man take him without a social worker looking at him. Cuddy looked at his hands briefly, noticing they were red and bruised, as if he had hit something, or rather someone, more than once.

"No I haven't. When I do, I'll let you know. He couldn't have gotten far. I'll have a search team look for him."

The man nodded his thanks before turning to the door and then back to her. "I'd better give you my number. I'm late for a meeting." He jotted down his number on a piece of paper he had pulled from his pocket and grabbed a pen from her desk. He handed the paper to her and strode out the office, completely oblivious to his son's presence in the room.

When Cuddy was sure he wasn't going to come back in, she set the number on her desk and quietly moved to the couch. She kneeled on it and bent over so she could see the boy.

"Hey, it's okay. You can come out now," said Cuddy softly. The boy's dirty face stared at her for a long few moments before deciding to trust her and lift his arms up to indicate he needed help getting out from between the wall and the couch. Cuddy lifted him up and set him on the couch.

"Was that man your daddy?" she asked softly, as not to startle him with the voice she knew could have men of Vogler's status cowering in submission. Cuddy lowered herself to the floor and knelt in front of him. The boy avoided her question by putting his hands over his face and burying it deep within the couch.

"Can you tell me you're name?" The boy mumbled something but she couldn't understand him. "Say that again, hun." Here eyes widened in surprise as the term of endearment tumbled out of her mouth.

"Thomas," he said louder and seemed to relax slightly.

"Okay Thomas. Was that man your dad?" Thomas nodded. "Why are you hiding from him?"

Once again he was silent, but he trusted her enough now to uncover his face. He lay on his side with his shoes on and curled into a ball facing her.

"Daddy is going to hurt me." He spoke softly, almost to quiet for her to hear.

She opened her mouth to say something but Thomas didn't let her speak. "He hurt mommy and sent her away. Now it's just the two of us. I want mommy to come back."

Cuddy frowned a bit and dragged her tongue over the right side of her teeth before breaking eye contact with him. "How does he hurt you Thomas?"

"Daddy told me not to tell anyone. He said that if I did he would find mommy and hurt her again."

"Please Thomas, you have to tell me. It's very important." She held back the tears that threatened to slide down her cheeks. The last thing the child needed was to see a strange woman weeping over him when he had much bigger problems on his mind.

Thomas turned on his other side and kept his mouth shut. Cuddy didn't know if he wanted her to leave him alone or if he was indicating to look for the bruises herself. She chose the second option and reached out and took the hem of his shirt, slowly lifting it. When Thomas said and did nothing, she pulled it up further. Her eyes widened and a hand covered her mouth to hold back a gasp and any other sound that threatened to escape. Bruises of all sizes and colors formed on his tiny back. She gently pulled down his shirt and cleared her throat to make sure her voice wouldn't crack.

"You're not going back with him," she said softly and ran a hand through his dirty hair. He tensed and cringed when he moved onto his back to look at her.

"But daddy will hurt you too if you try to take me away."

Cuddy stared at him. "I'm a big girl, Thomas. I can handle myself. Do you have any other relatives that you can stay with until this is all cleared up?"

"No. They went to hell when daddy put their heads in the toilet at home." He had said it casually, as if this sort of thing happened everyday.

Cuddy turned away as a few tears slide down her face. There was no way in hell she was letting that...beast take this child back. "Take a nap-" She turned around but stopped talking when she saw he already had his eyes closed and was trying to sleep. He obviously trusted her enough not to call his father, or he was just too exhausted to care.

Cuddy picked up the phone sitting on her desk and was about to dial social services but hesitated. Should she call them now? They would most likely want to come now and take him away. She shook her head of all hesitation and dialed the number. As much as she didn't want to, she had to phone them for Thomas' sake.

After a few rings a young woman's voice greeted her. "Hello, social services, Veronica Derangio speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hi, this is Dr. Lisa Cuddy from Princeton- Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. I have a child here in my office. I think he's being abused by his father."

"Can you give me his name?"

"Thomas."

"Last name?"

"I don't have that information."

"Well next time get it."

Cuddy's mouth gaped open. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. We cannot do much research on the kid if we don't have his first and last name."

Cuddy scoffed. "Bull shit. Next time, Veronica, you come to the walk in clinic here in Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, I'll be sure to remember your name. Don't worry about Thomas., He'll be fine with me," she all but hissed in the phone before slamming it shut, completely forgetting that Thomas was resting on the couch until he stirred and mumbled in his sleep.

She breathed a sigh and rubbed a hand over her face. When she looked up her eyes widened. House was headed for her office. She looked to Thomas and then back at House. _Shit!_ She wasn't sure if Thomas could handle being confronted by House. She moved quickly and swiftly. She made it outside her door and met him in the small room separating her office from the rest of the hospital. Her assistant was about to say something to House but upon seeing Cuddy make it out before she could speak, she shut her mouth and sat back down, resuming to whatever task she had been doing.

"Hello Cuddy. Lovely day isn't it?" he asked with that smile of his. The smile that said 'I'm-bull-shitting-you.'

"What is it, House? I'm kind of busy."

"With who?" House looked over but saw no one in the office. "You're not hiding men in tight leather suits in there, are you?"

Cuddy sneered and rolled her eyes. House knew very well she hated leather and all leather related things. She tried to ignore how much he was annoying her and how edgy he made her feel and tried to focus on the task at hand: get him to leave before Thomas woke up.

"I need a consult."

"For?"

"You know that surgery I pulled this morning?" Cuddy nodded, not sure if she was going to like the next thing that came from his mouth. "Well, as it turns out, it's needed, only this time my patient will die if she doesn't have this surgery."

"Fine, do whatever you need to do." She watched him nod and then leave before turning and heading back into her own office. Thomas was still on the couch, sound asleep.


	2. Getting Settled

**Disclaimer: Don't own House.**

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 1 and thanks for reviewing. Enjoy this chapter it was edited by HouseAddiction!!**

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It was six at night by the time Cuddy decided it was time to wake up Thomas. She had done her best to make sure whoever barged into her office, didn't get so much as a step further into her office from the door. It amazed her that the boy could sleep through almost the loudest of noises.

She walked over to the dark haired boy on the couch and knelt down. She reached out and with a gentle hand shook his shoulder. "Hey, Thomas." Her voice was low and soft.

It took a few tries but he was finally awake, only he started to cry when he woke up. Cuddy stared at Thomas for a moment, unsure of what to do. She decided it was best to take Thomas into a warm embrace and sooth him with words that she only used when speaking to her nieces and nephews when they were younger and had hurt themselves.

He repeated the same phrase over and over again. "Don't let him hurt me." It hurt so much to hear this coming from such a small boy but there was nothing she could do about it but reassure him that his father wasn't going to hurt him anymore.

He fell asleep again resting on her shoulder. Cuddy sighed and lifted him up with surprising ease. He weighed maybe twenty-five pounds at most. She managed to turn off all her lights, close the blinds and take her coat and brief case in one hand while carrying Thomas in the other. She locked the door to her office with one hand and managed to ignore the questioning looks from the women at the nurses' station.

Perhaps she'd call in sick tomorrow and get Thomas settled and everything straightened out. She reached her car and unlocked the back seat, carefully laying him on his side, and fastened one of the seat belts around his thin body. She put her coat around him when he curled up into a ball and started shivering. It wasn't smart to be out in the middle of winter without a coat on but she had her suit jacket to help a little. At least the little boy would be warm.

She got in, started her engine and turned down her radio so the music coming out of it was soft and soothing.

She pulled into her drive way and took Thomas out of the car. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, grateful for the warmth. She would have to bathe him in the morning. Right now there was nothing that would wake him up long enough for a bath.

She sat on the couch and took off his shoes and shirt. The bruises were clearer, causing her to sigh in anger and pity. She took off his socks, leaving him in his pants. She stood after peeling her heels away from her feet and carried him across the hall to her room. She had a spare room but if Thomas woke up in the middle of the night or morning even, he wouldn't recognize where he is and most likely get scared.

Once she tucked Thomas in her bed she went to her bathroom, stripped off her suit and threw on a white nightgown. She washed off her makeup and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. Once she was done, she got into bed beside the sleeping boy.

One glance at her clock told her it was only half past eight. She sighed, listening to her stomach grumble with the unfulfilled need for food. She didn't want to get up and risk waking Thomas so she rolled over, facing him, and closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew she was brought out of a very deep sleep by hearing a loud slam and quickly sat up. Her brows furrowed as she tried to comprehend what was going on. Suddenly remembering Thomas, she looked down next to her.

He wasn't there.

Panic shot through her. She jumped out of bed and searched for the missing boy. She found him in the kitchen, on her counter, looking through cabinets. She reached out and touched him. She didn't expect him to scream with fright. He quickly tried to get away, which caused him to slip and nearly fall of the counter. If it hadn't been for Cuddy's quick reflexes, he probably would have smashed his head on the floor.

"Shh, it's okay Thomas."

He stopped struggling when he recognized her voice. "Where's daddy?" He looked around the room.

"He's not here. I won't let him come here."

"Am I going back to him?"

Cuddy was silent for a moment. "Not if you don't want to."

"Where will I go?" He curled into a tighter ball and leaned closer into Cuddy's warmth. She guessed that meant he didn't want to go back with his father.

"We'll see what's going to happen tomorrow okay?"

Thomas nodded sleepily. "What's your name?" His voice was just above a whisper.

At any other situation she would have laughed at her stupidity in forgetting to introduce herself.

"Lisa." She said softly.

"Can we go to bed now, Lisa?"

"Yeah."

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The next morning Cuddy woke up before Thomas. She quietly got out of bed and headed for the kitchen to put on some coffee and call in sick.

Once those tasks were done she looked through her cupboards to see if she had any cereal that Thomas might like. She found Corn Pops, Fruit Loops, and Mini Wheats and set them on the counter. She got out an egg and a pan, turned on the stove and set the pan on it. Once it was hot enough she cracked the egg and put it into the pan and watched it bubble for a few moments before remembering her coffee was on the counter waiting for her to drink it.

As she flipped the egg, she heard small feet padding down the hall to the kitchen.

"Lisa?" Cuddy smiled at him. He looked so small and fragile. His eyes were just half open and a bit blood shot from tiredness.

"Hey. Have a nice sleep?" she asked, getting a bowl for him.

He nodded. "Where are my clothes?" His little voice cracked from exhaustion.

"I have to wash them. For now you can wear one of my shirts," said Cuddy, walking into her room and pulling out a gray shirt. She pulled it over his head and watched as it dragged on the floor as he walked. "I need you to give me your pants and underwear. I have to wash those too." Thomas undid his pants and stepped out of them with his underwear.

"I'm hungry."

"I have cereal." She pointed to the three choices. Thomas chose Fruit Loops and watched Cuddy's every move as she carefully took out a bowl and poured more than enough for his little tummy to handle. She took out a carton of milk.

"Are you allergic to milk?"

"I don't know."

"Here." She put a little bit into a cup and handed it to him.

He hesitated before taking a small sip. Deciding it was okay, he quickly chugged it down. "Yum!" He held out his cup for more and she gave him more, this time filling it to the half way point and put some into his bowl as well.

After the two ate, Cuddy told him he needed a bath. Fear flashed through his eyes. "I don't want a bath."

"You're dirty, Thomas. You can't avoid getting baths all your life."

"I don't want one." He frowned at her.

"How about a shower?"

"No!" he yelled at her, getting up from the table, his little body quickly disappearing into her room. Cuddy sighed and put a hand on her forehead. God help the man that embedded fear into this helpless little boy.

She got up and walked to her room and knocked softly on the door. She opened the door gently and saw Thomas under the blankets hiding his face from her.

"Are you scared of getting a bath?" she asked softly, sitting on the edge of her bed. Thomas didn't answer her. "Come on, Thomas. I'm not going to hurt you, you know that."

"Are you going to leave?" His voice was muffled against the blankets.

"No, I won't leave you." Thomas pulled down the blankets far enough so she could see his face.

"Do you promise?"

Cuddy glanced down at her hands and back to him. "Yes."

"Lisa?" Cuddy's gaze flickered to him. "You can give me a bath now."

Cuddy gave him a soft smile but turned away when a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. She turned back to him and smiled again, quickly wiping it away. Cuddy went to her bathroom and ran warm water, putting bubbles in it to make it seem less scary.

Cuddy came from around the bathroom door and spotted Thomas looking through the movies in her nightstand. He turned around when he sensed her behind him and smiled up at her. "You don't have any good movies, Lisa."

His smile penetrated into her heart, making her heart ache for the child that's so deeply scarred. "Well, later we'll go shopping and you can pick out movies you want to watch, okay?" She put a hand gently on top of his head and smiled down at him.

"Okay." He put her movies back and turned to her. "Is my bath ready?"

Cuddy nodded and took his hand, leading him into the bathroom. "I'll be right here, all right? You don't have to be afraid." Cuddy pulled her shirt up over his head and as he turned she had to look away. The bruises were still there. They weren't as ripe looking as yesterday but they were still there. He got in and sat down. He took a bunch of bubbles and put them on his head and chin.

"Lisa, look! Ho, ho, ho! I'm Santa Clause." Cuddy chuckled as he made his small voice deepen.

She knelt down and leaned over the tub to grab the soap and helped him wash his body, avoiding his back. She took her shampoo and after a little arguing with Thomas about him needing his hair cleaned, lathered it and let Thomas feel his hair after it was all lathered and ready to be rinsed. She took of the shower head and turned it on.

"Cover your eyes." She warned and waited for him to rub his hands in the water to get the shampoo off of them and covered his eyes tightly with his hands. She then ran the shower head over his hair, watching with satisfaction as the dirt slid down his multi-coloured back and into the water.

She convinced him that he had to get out of the water because it was dirty and that he could get another one later if he wanted. Once he was out and the water was drained, she took out another shirt for him to wear while she put his clothes in the washing machine.

She helped him dry his hair and body. She took her brush and gently brushed out his wavy hair.

"There, all clean."

"Can I watch TV?" Cuddy nodded and lead him into her living room and turned on cartoons for him.

"If you need anything I'll be in the shower. Don't answer the door to anyone and if the phone rings, don't answer it. If it's really important they'll leave a message." She waited until he looked back at her and nodded that he heard her.

It took Cuddy only fifteen minutes to shower and another fifteen to get dressed into jeans and a dark green, long sleeved shirt with a low V neck. She put a touch of make up on and brushed out her hair, deciding to leave it down.

She quickly walked out of her room to make sure the four year old was okay. Relief washed through her when she saw him on the couch eating a piece of dry bread with a water bottle lying beside him. She walked up to him and put a hand on his head. He flinched and looked up. He smiled and offered her a piece of bread when he realized it was only her. She shook her head and Thomas brought his bread back down and ate it.

She went into the laundry room and put his clothes from the washer into the dryer and set it for an hour before turning it on.

Her phone then rang and she walked to the kitchen to get it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Cuddy. Nice day to skip work, isn't it?" Cuddy sighed and rolled her eyes from annoyance at the all too familiar voice.

"I'm not skipping, House. I called in. Something you should learn to do when you decide not to show up for work."

"I'm always at work. Can't say the same for you though. You say you're 'sick', but what are you really doing?"

Cuddy decided to ignore that and got straight to the point. "What is it, House?"

"Lisa?"

"Hold on a moment." She covered the receiver with her hand.

"Yes, Thomas?" She didn't miss the worried look on his face.

"Is it daddy?"

"No hun, this one is a friend of mine." Thomas nodded and went back into the room to watch TV. She put the phone back to her ear.

"House?"

"Since when do you have kids visiting your place?"

"Why are you calling?" she asked abruptly, clearly avoiding the question.

"Is he secretly yours? Who's the father, Cuddy? Oh let me guess, Wilson. No! It's Foreman."

"He's four, House."

"So?"

"So that would mean he's not Foreman's. Foreman hasn't even been working at the hospital for four years."

"You didn't deny him being Wilson's."

"He's not Wilson's, or mine."

"You kidnapped him, didn't you?"

"You have less than a minute to tell me why you called before I hang up."

"I need a consult."

"For?"

"My patient needs a brain biopsy."

"Will your patient die if he doesn't have this biopsy?"

"Yes, that was the whole point in me calling."

A sigh escaped her lips. "Fine. Do the biopsy. But if he has permanent brain damage then it's on your head, not mine."

On the other end, House nodded. "Right, and tell your kid Uncle Greg says hello." He hung up.

Cuddy put the phone back on the receiver and turned to the living room. She decided to watch what Thomas was watching until his clothes were dry.

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House reached down to the flower pot and pulled out the key. He unlocked the door and stepped in. He didn't bother to take off his shoes as he silently searched the quiet house. He turned into the living room, noticing the TV was on.

His gaze went straight to Cuddy lying on the couch on her back with a boy lying on top of her, using her breasts as pillows as he slept with her. He had to admit the image was adorable. He stood in front of Cuddy and the boy, looking down at them, wondering who the kid was.

He then saw the kid's eyes open and widen in fear when they rested on House.

"Lisa!"

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**Hope you enjoyed the chapter XD. **

**So, how pissed to you think Cuddy's going to be at House?**


	3. Injuries Prevail

**Disclaimer: Don't own House.**

**A/N: Hey guys! So glad you love the story. XD Thank you for taking so well to Thomas. I should probably mention that in real life, the boy I'm basing Thomas off, doesn't get abused, his parents would rather die than abuse him or his sister. **

**So anyway, enjoy chapter 3, it was edited by HouseAddiction.**

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Cuddy jumped and sat up when she heard Thomas scream her name. Her heart was pounding as she looked around, eyes wide. Her gaze then settled on the very man she didn't want to see at the moment.

"House." Here voice was low and deadly calm. She noticed Thomas' arms around her neck and his face buried in her chest. He trembled slightly.

"Evening. Hope I wasn't interrupting." He watched as she squinted in the darkness to see her clock. Her eyes widened.

"House, it's one o'clock in the morning. Why the hell are you here?" She silently cursed herself for sleeping the whole day. He noticed the shaking of her hands and the tremble in her movements as she tried to sit up with Thomas on her.

"Well you see, my apartment flooded. I tried going to Jimmy's but he refused to let me stay due to the last time we bunked together," he replied, watching Thomas.

"Why- Thomas, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you." Cuddy tried to gently talk him into letting her go but he kept shaking his head 'no' and held on tighter when she tried to pull him off. He then started to cry when she tried to pry his hands away and almost succeeded. She stopped trying when he started crying and sighed. She noticed House's gaze on her and let her eyes flicker up to him for a moment.

"If he isn't yours, then why haven't his parents come to get him yet?" He spoke over the soft sobs of the boy.

"Shh, it's okay." She rubbed his back and smoothed down his hair, trying to calm him down and hopefully make him go back to sleep. "Can we talk about this later?" she hissed at him.

House paused for a moment before nodding slightly. He made his way into her kitchen and she got up to go to her room and lie with Thomas until he was asleep again.

Around ten minutes later, Cuddy silently came out of her room and closed the door behind her. She made her way to the kitchen. What she saw, she didn't like. He was eating a sandwich, his feet propped up on the table, swinging his cane.

He looked up and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw how pissed she looked. Her eyes were wide with anger, almost glowing in the dark as the moon light from her window shone on her face, her jaw set. She couldn't have looked more gorgeous.

"What gave you the damn right to come in my home and invade my privacy?" she hissed at him, taking a step towards him with every word.

"Nothing really. Your bread is really good." He tried to make her think of anything but him breaking into her home...again. Which was going to be impossible considering she was pissed and he was still in said home.

She leaned down, her face close to his. "Get. Out."

He stared at her. He considered saying something snide but decided against it. "Only if you tell me who the kid is." She straightened, a bitter laugh escaping her lips.

"No, House, that's not how it's going to work." She raised her voice ever so slightly. "You're going to take that damn sandwich and get your ass out of here. Now."

"So is he really yours? Or did you honestly kidnap him?" He completely ignored her statement.

"He's not mine and I didn't kidnap him."

"Then who is he?"

"His name is Thomas."

"Not what I meant."

"That's all you need to know."

"I wonder what the other Deans will say when they find out you asked for a kid from one of your donors as payment."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Bastard."

"Nag."

"Jerk."

"Suck up."

"Ass."

"Tease."

"Damn cripple."

"Damn sexy beast."

Cuddy made a sound of disgust. "Seriously House, if he wakes up and finds you're still here..." She let her sentence trail.

"So? What does it matter? Is my cane and my great way with kids to much for him to handle?"

Cuddy gave him her 'shut-up' look and looked back to see if Thomas was standing there. When the coast was clear she turned back to House and said in a low voice, "His father abuses him. Thomas came into my office yesterday, looking for a place to hid. Before I could ask him who he was and why he was here, he hid himself and his father came in, asking if I'd seen his boy. House, I couldn't let him take Thomas back. His knuckles were bruised and torn from hitting him so many times." The images of Thomas' back flooded back to her and had her eyes watering but she refused to shed them.

"You fool. What the hell do you think is going to happen when he finds out you've got his son?" House's voice raised a bit.

"I'll deal with that when it comes."

"And do what, Cuddy? Take care of it yourself? Chances are, if he can hit his son, he's hit his wife or girlfriend or whoever produced the kid."

"He did," mumbled Cuddy. House rolled his eyes and gave her an 'are-you-totally-stupid?' look and stood, his sandwich completely forgotten.

"Were you brain dead when you made the decision to take him here?" He was yelling now, rage evident in his eyes.

"What did you expect me to do? Leave him there?"

"No, I expected you to act professional and call social services! Did it ever occur to you that if, said father, finds you've hiding his boy from him, he won't hesitate to take you down?!"

"I've thought of that, House! But I'm not about to let Thomas fend for himself!"

"Jesus, Cuddy, would you think for a moment-"

"I have thought, I've thought of the chance of me getting hurt but you know what, House? He needs me. He needs someone that won't beat the damn shit out of him for doing something wrong. For merely being born!" They were close to each other's faces, anger and frustration clear in their eyes.

"Leave Lisa alone!" a tiny voice yelled and both heads turned to Thomas standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The boy made a bee line for House and pushed him. It didn't do much but make him step back to gain his balance.

"Hey, have a little more respect for cripples."

"Don't hurt Lisa!" Anger and fear were clear in his features as he shielded Cuddy with his small body.

"Thomas!" Cuddy reached out and pulled him into a firm embrace. "He isn't going to hurt me. It's okay."

"But he was yelling and he has a stick and-"

"No, sweetie-"

"Hey kid!" shouted House causing Thomas to jump and tense. Cuddy opened her mouth to tell him to shut up but House spoke first. "If I was going to hurt Lisa, I would have already. Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not your father. I don't physically hurt people for no reason."

"Liar!" he yelled into her neck.

"Kid-"

"Liar! Liar! Liar!" House's jaw set and his gaze went from hard and pure annoyance to almost gentle. He limped passed them and headed for the door.

He heard Cuddy mumble little sweet soothing words until he closed the door and stepped out into the chilly night.

He reached into his jacket pocket and took out his pet rat. He held out a piece of bread to the little critter and watched him eat it for a few moments before putting his backpack on more securely on his back. Guess he and Steve McQueen were bunking with the homeless for the rest of the night.

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The next day she woke to find her little visitor curled up, right underneath her chin. She rubbed a hand over her face, trying to recall all that had happened last night. Once she remembered, she groaned. It had taken an extra thirty minutes to get Thomas to calm down and reassure him the Greg wasn't going to hurt her _or_ him.

"Lisa?" asked the small voice from under her. She tensed a bit, but took a deep breath and, with tired, half open eyes, looked down at the boy.

"Yes?" she asked. Her voice was croaky and hushed.

"Is he here?" His voice sounded small and frightened.

"No one is here but you and me," she reassured him and cleared her throat.

He nodded and closed his eyes, his breathing becoming soft and even once again. She watched him sleep for a few moments before looking at her clock and noticing she was late for work. She swore and picked up the phone. Once she dialed the number for the hospital and the check in nurse picked up, she told her she was sick again and wouldn't be there today. She didn't have to fake the croakiness in her voice so it wasn't to hard in convincing Brenda she just had the flu.

After getting a shower and putting on a pair of blue jeans, a clingy red long sleeved shirt and soft white socks, she came out of the bathroom in search of her brush. Once that was found, she brushed her hair and she put it up in a high ponytail. She brushed her teeth and applied only a touch of makeup.

Once she decided her appearance was passable, she strode out of her bathroom and nearly panicked when Thomas wasn't still sleeping on her bed. She quickly walked out to the living room and let out a soft sigh. He was on her couch watching more cartoons with a box of Fruit Loops beside him with an arm stuck in it, ready to pull out more when he was done with what was in his mouth. She went into the kitchen and saw one of the chairs to her table was misplaced in the middle of her kitchen.

She smirked. So that was how he got up there. A knock sounded at her door and in seconds Thomas was at her side, clinging to her thigh.

"Stay here, ok?" She said softly.

Thomas shook his head. "No."

Cuddy sighed, took his hand and led him to the door. He stood behind it as she opened the big green door. She let out a breath when she saw House but worry stretched across her features when she noticed the scratches and blood on his face.

"House!" Cuddy reached out to him, hoping to get him inside and treat his wounds, completely forgetting Thomas was frightened of the man.

He mumbled something inhuman before he fell into Cuddy's slim body, causing her to stumble backwards into her house from the sudden weight. Thomas closed her door but once he saw House, leaning heavily on Lisa, he froze and his eyes widened.

Cuddy would deal with that later, right now she needed to get House on her couch before she lost all her strength and both her and House collapsed on the floor.

She quickly led him to the couch and tried to gently lay him down without to much of a flop. Once he was set on the couch he passed out. Cuddy looked up to see if Thomas was okay and saw him hiding behind the wall peeking in, slightly, to see what was going on.

"He's going to be okay," reassured Cuddy. But who was she trying to convince? Herself or Thomas?

She went to her kitchen and filled a bowl with warm water and grabbed a neatly folded cloth. She kneeled down and dropped the cloth in the water and wrung it out. She gently dabbed his forehead and down his cheeks to rid him of the blood that dried up on his face. She cleaned around the small gash in his forehead to get a better look at it. She jumped and held her breath when something fuzzy touched her arm. She looked down and saw House's stupid rat. She let out a breath and rubbed a hand over her face. She picked it up and went over to Thomas.

"Wanna play with his rat for a bit?" Thomas looked at it, uncertain and then touched the critter. When the rat squirmed a bit he looked up at Cuddy and shook his head no. She took the small brown animal into her kitchen and put a heavy bowl over top of it so he couldn't get anywhere when she set him on the floor. "Would you like to watch over the rat and make sure he doesn't go anywhere?"

Thomas shook his head, watching House, making sure he didn't move. His eyes started to water but he held back his frightened tears. Cuddy softened completely and went over to him. She bent down and hugged him. He wrapped his arms were around her neck and buried his face in her shirt. She didn't want to shove Thomas away and leave him scared to death, but she also needed to see if House had any other injuries. She put him in the kitchen and set him on a chair, she went into the living room to retrieve his forgotten breakfast and handed him the box of Fruit Loops.

"I'll only be a few minutes," she said and went back into the living room. House was still limp on the couch with his eyes closed. She proceeded in lifting his shirt to look at his stomach and chest for any wounds. A few bruises were on his ribs. She trailed a hand over the colored flesh and then to the other side to see how tender the wounds were.

"Keep doing that and you'll turn me on." Cuddy's head came up and rested on his half open eyes. She gave him a slight glower.

"Sorry, House. Your ribs are bruised and I'm sure you have something close to a migraine so no sex for you," she retorted and lifted his shirt over his head.

"Nice." He watched her scan over his chest and the rest of his stomach.

"Want to tell me what happened?" she asked, engrossed in skimming over his abused flesh.

"Where's my Vicodin?"

"Where you put it last."

"Which would be in my jacket." He tried sitting up but Cuddy's hand stopped him. His gaze flickered to her stern one and he quickly flopped back down. She reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the bottle, shaking out a pill for him. She was going to suggest he take it with water but didn't get the chance. He had already swallowed it.

"What happened?" She held his gaze, unwilling to let him get away without an answer.

House sighed. "I slept on a park bench last night and woke to find an old man man-handling my cane. I told him to give it back. He wouldn't. I got up to take it and he whacked me...really, really hard with it and ran off."

"You limped all the way here?" She gave him a skeptical look.

"You were the closest and besides, it's only a block or two away from the park I was at." He snapped.

She sighed. "Where's your bag?"

House looked around. "It may be at the front door."

Cuddy got up to retrieve his bag but it wasn't there. She went to ask Thomas if he had it and stopped dead in her tracks. The small boy not only had the bag but was going through it, seemingly looking for something.

"What are you doing?" she asked walking over to him and kneeling down to pick up House's belongings. When Thomas didn't find what he was looking for, he helped clean up by handing Cuddy everything he took out.

"Nothing," came his response but Cuddy didn't miss his worried, concentrated look as he rummaged through the bag. She would ask him about it later, when House had something to eat and was sleeping, so he couldn't over hear their conversation.

Cuddy came back into the room and sighed in sheer annoyance when she found House sitting up, watching cartoons.

"Lie down," she commanded.

He looked at her. "Got the sex toys under the couch?" She glowered at him, causing him to roll his eyes. "Fine, _mother_."

She gave him a triumphant smirk and proceeded in applying a bit of alcohol to his wound. He cringed and hissed in pain.

"Stop being such a baby," she said softly.

"Don't put so damn much on it then," he snapped, causing her to pause for a moment then proceed in dabbing a bit harder. He swore under his breath but didn't cringe this time. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to relax.

Thomas was silently watching the interaction between the two adults from behind the wall. For a moment, he had thought the man Lisa called House, was going to hurt her when his voice snapped at her. He watched the way she handled it, as if the worst House would do was be mean to her. Once she finished making sure his wound was okay, he watched as she asked him softly if he needed anything. He gave a reply that she didn't like. The small boy could tell Lisa didn't like it from the way she set her hands on her hips and looked down at him with an annoyed expression on his face. House smirked up at her but told her he didn't need anything right now.

She turned and left for the kitchen. Thomas didn't move as she came closer. He looked up at her with big, questioning, brown eyes. Lisa smiled down at him and took his hand, leading him into the kitchen to explain why House was here.

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**So lovelies! How was that chapter? Kinda boring, I know. It will get better in the next few chapters when House and Thomas have temper issues with each other. What will others think when House and Cuddy don't show up for work the next day? How will Cuddy react to House fighting with a four year old and making him cry? **

**Till next time. **

**Inu-midoriko. **


	4. Joys Of Manipulation

**Disclaimer: Don't anything but the plot. **

**A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for liking this story. Your kind words are so motivational. Hope you enjoy chapter 4. **

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By the time House woke up the next day, his headache was gone but the roaring pain in his leg, telling him to get his lazy ass up and take a damn vicodin, kept him from going back to sleep. He laid back down after searching for his meds and sighed. He went over the events of last night before popping a pill in his mouth.

He had remembered passing out yesterday, after Lisa had treated his wound and examined him for any other injuries. He remembered waking up around nine at night and over heard Lisa explaining to the kid why he had to stay the night and how he wouldn't do anything to hurt them. It took her about thirty minutes to reassure Thomas, he wouldn't come into the room and start hitting them. There was ten minutes silence after that so he guessed the little tyke was asleep.

He rubbed his hands over his face and turned his head to the TV, and considered putting it on. He was distracted from the thought when his stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, making him grumpy and irritable. He sat up, only wincing a little as his bruised ribs moved with him.

He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, half expecting to see beer but remembered that Lisa didn't drink. He grunted in disappointment and nearly tripped over a bowl on the floor. He bent over a bit, using the door to the fridge to support some of his weight.

"It's your rat."

House's gaze lifted to the entry to the kitchen. Cuddy stood there in a green night gown with a bath robe over it. "My rat turned into a bowl?" His remark made her roll her eyes.

"You know what I meant." She walked over to the bowl, lifted it and quickly caught Steve before he got the chance to run under any furniture. She stood up with Steve in one hand and the bowl in the other.

"I have to call the plumber." He muttered and went back into the room to get the phone. He bent over and froze, turning his head to the hall to Cuddy's room. Thomas stood there, frozen to the spot. Neither of them moved for a while until Cuddy came into the room and saw the tension between them.

She handed House his rat and whispered. "Call them and get out of here."

House gave Thomas a dirty look when Cuddy turned her back on him to go to Thomas and give him a bath. The small boy willingly took her hand and let her lead him to the bathroom for another bath, giving House a dirty look of his own.

House watched them go and disappear into the room before calling his plumber.

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She had showered after Thomas got a bath and put on a pair of jeans and a low cut, white shirt. She let her hair down and applied only a bit of make up. She retrieved Thomas' clothes from the drier and helped him put them on.

She came out of her room with Thomas clinging to her thigh to find House on the couch with a sandwich in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. The Bugs Bunny and Tweedy show was on and he seemed to be engrossed with it.

"Plumber's coming by my place today around noon to look at the flood." Stated House, looking back at Cuddy and then at Thomas. He turned back after Cuddy nodded.

After she and Thomas had something to eat, they got their shoes on and Cuddy retrieved her purse.

"Where are you going?"

"Thomas needs some clothes and movies to watch." She replied and opened her door to leave.

"Wait." House stood, dropping his sandwich on the table. He reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He took out several bills and limped over to her. "Get me a cane while you're out." He extended his hand out to her. She gave him a look but took the bills and muttered 'good bye' before leaving. He smirked as he closed the door behind her and Thomas.

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When Cuddy and Thomas were in the car and on the rode, she decided to ask him about what he thought of House.

"Hey Thomas," She started. He was seated in the back seat so she had to look through the rearview mirror to see him. "what do you think of Greg?"

"I thought his name was House."

"That's his last name."

"Then why do you call him by it and not Greg?"

"Well, you see, I work at the hospital you came to the other day. I run that hospital and Hou- Greg, works for me. He makes all the really sick patience better. So at the hospital we all call each other by our last names. It's both professional and saves complications."

"What complications?"

"Well, if there is another doctor named Greg when it would get confusing." She had way to much patience for her own good.

"Oh."

"What do you think of him?" Asked Cuddy, getting back on topic.

"He's scary."

Cuddy snorted and smirked. "Yeah he can be scary. Why does he make you scared though?"

"He isn't happy. People who aren't happy don't like to be bothered. Mommy used to say that daddy hits us because he isn't happy." Replied Thomas.

"Are you scared of all men?" She looked into the mirror at him.

"I don't know."

"He isn't like your father." Stated Cuddy. She then looked back at him and asked, "Do you trust me?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you trust me enough to tell you that Greg isn't a bad guy?" Thomas looked away from her and didn't answer. She sighed deciding to drop it for now.

She then smiled at him. "Want some ice cream?" He looked back at her and smiled widely.

"Yes!"

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Greg House limped from wall to wall, trying to walk off some of the pain, but as usual, the pain increased. He cursed and leaned heavily on the wall by Lisa's room. He peered inside and noticed that even with a child, him and other problems going on, she still managed to keep her room tidy. God she was such a neat freak. What made it seem odd was that House found himself grinning at the thought.

His grin vanished when he heard the lock to the door unclick and the sound of Lisa's voice instructing Thomas to put the clothes in her room. House quickly opened the closet door and hid behind it.

"Oh yeah House, that _so _not obvious." Remarked Cuddy, taking Thomas' hand and guided him into her room. She closed the door a bit, letting him change into what ever he wanted and turned to the immature doctor, who was still hiding behind the closet door. Lisa went around the wooden object and tried to give House an annoyed look but her amusement by his actions fell through a tiny smirk.

"What? I thought that if I didn't answer, you'd think I really wasn't there and look somewhere else."

"Yeah, except for the fact your bum leg won't let you go anywhere worth hiding without it hurting like a bitch without this." She held up a black cane with a smooth handle and handed it to him. Silver lines intertwined all the way up the cane until it came up to the black handle with 'Greg House' carved in the side of it, painted in silver.

He smirked and looked up at Cuddy who gave him a look that said it was nothing and turned. He was eternally grateful and thought the cane was magnificent but he'd be damned if he let his boss, his equal, his secret lust of his life, know what he thought of the cane and the engraving on it.

"Thought I'd loose it or something?"

"It's to let all the homeless men know that the cane is yours. And they can't say your name isn't on it, 'cause it is." She pointed to the engraving.

"Yeah, it's hard to miss. You know, it being silver on a black handle and all." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Ass." She muttered.

"Sneak." He muttered back. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a heart melting grin before walking into her room and closing the door.

She closed the door behind her and sighed. She didn't miss the excited glint in his eyes when he saw the cane. She wondered how long it would take him to realize the cane came from the money he gave her and demand for his change back.

As if on cue, the door knocked. "Yes?" She called.

"My change?"

Cuddy smirked and opened the door a crack. "I was wondering when you'd get around to that." She went into her pocket and pulled out a total of fifteen dollars with the recipe and handed it to him. She was about to close the door but he put his cane in the way to stop the door from closing.

He jerked his chin in the direction of her bathroom where he knew Thomas was changing.

"He still afraid of me?"

"We had a small chat about it in the car."

"And?"

"He's not ready to accept you." She said in all seriousness, her chin coming up to meet his sincere gaze.

The door opened and Thomas walked out in a small pair of jeans and a 'Hot Wheels' t-shirt. He stopped short when he saw House and looked from Lisa to Greg.

"We're just talking about the cane you picked out for him." Explained Lisa. House raised an eyebrow at this surprising information.

"You let a four year old pick out my cane?" Cuddy gave him a look that told him to shut up but House ignored it.

House then nodded to Thomas. "Good choice." He then turned and went to the kitchen. Lisa smiled at Thomas who smiled tightly back before remembering Lisa bought movies for him to watch. He picked out 'The Toy Story' and ran up to Lisa with a wide boyish grin.

"Lisa! Can I watch _this_ movie?!" He asked excitedly.

She chuckled and ruffled his dark hair. "Of course." She led him out of the room and into the TV room where Greg was sitting comfortably, swinging his cane in one hand while the other rubbed his leg. Thomas, being to excited about the movie to care about anything else in the world, crawled on the other side of the couch and waited for Lisa to put in the movie.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Complained House as Cuddy turned off 'The Fairy Odd Parents'.

"Yeah, and now you're going to watch The Toy Story." She bent down to put in the movie, giving House a good view of her shapely ass. "Stop staring." She looked back and grinned, knowing full well that he was watching her every move.

"I wasn't staring." He defended, "I was observing."

She snorted and pressed play. "_Right_."

House rested his hand on his head and deliberately stared at her chest. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her breasts when he didn't looked at her face.

"House." She said warningly.

"What?"

"Stop staring at them."

"Sorry but the twins are just so attractive." She tried ignoring the flittering in her chest as he kept staring, tried ignoring how arousing it was to be complimented, even if it was coming from House and he probably didn't mean it. She found she longed to be in the arms of someone who not only relied and trusted her, but someone who appreciated her for what she did and what she looked like.

His gaze finally flickered to her glazed one. He didn't miss the flicker of arousal in her gaze when he looked up. It made him want to smirk and pull her down onto him and ravage her mouth and body. Something he'd always wanted to do since he first met her. His pride always got in the way though, preventing him from making a move on her. He considered doing it but the movement to his right reminded him that a four year old was in the room.

Cuddy was about to move into the kitchen but Thomas grabbed her hand.

"Don't go Lisa, watch the movie with me." She would have said no, would have said she had other things to do but the plea in his eyes and the way his brow creased, trying to maintain control at having to sit next to Greg, kept her from saying no.

"Alright." She gave in and picked up the four year old and sat down in his spot, bringing him onto her lap and wrapping her arms around him to rest on his stomach.

Greg watched the action and a flicker of jealousy entered his eyes for a moment before they turned to the movie.

About half way during the Disney movie Thomas' stomach started growling.

"Want something to eat?" She asked softly into his ear and he nodded, to engrossed in the movie to look away or talk. "I'll get you something okay?" He nodded and moved off of her, next to Greg and kept watching to movie. The movement didn't go unnoticed to either adult. Greg watched him from the corner of his eye, not daring to move. Lisa got up, watching to see if Thomas would move back onto their spot or not, and was thoroughly surprised when he didn't.

She walked over to Greg and laid a hand on his shoulder as she bent down and whispered in his ear. "Want anything?" It was an almost purr like request.

He turned his head towards her, taking in a small breath when he noticed just how close Lisa was to him. She moved back slightly, so that their mouths were no longer grazing against each other.

"No, I'm fine." Came his reply and he watched her sashay into the kitchen. He turned his head to Thomas, who watched the interaction with a questioning frown on his face. He turned back to the movie and sat a little closer to Greg.

The blue eyed man held back a grin and pretended he didn't notice, to see what Thomas would do next to get his attention. He was almost disappointed when the brown eyed boy's undivided attention was back on the movie.

Lisa came back after about five minutes with a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich with milk in a sippy cup she had picked up. She stopped abruptly when she noticed the gap between Greg and Thomas had closed a bit. Greg looked up from the TV and watched the only woman in the house hand Thomas his sandwich and milk. The boy put the plate in his lap and the milk by his side for when he wanted a sip.

Lisa sat back down, wondering who she could get to look after Thomas while she went to work the next day. She couldn't take anymore days off, she already knew the paper work was going to be up to the ceiling when she returned tomorrow.

The only woman she could think of that would be good with kids was Allison Cameron, one of House's lapdogs. She would have to ask House about it later.

Once the movie was over, Thomas picked another one, this time it was 'The Land Before Time'. Greg got up and went into the kitchen. Lisa followed him after telling Thomas that if he needed her, she'd be in the kitchen. Thomas nodded, peanut butter and jelly all over him. She couldn't help but smile at his messy face when he wasn't looking at her anymore.

Lisa went into the kitchen and sat at the table, watching Greg take out the peanut butter and jam.

"You only want that because Thomas has it." She remarked, noticing his cane was propped on the door to the fridge.

He grinned at her. "Right, it couldn't possibly be because I was hungry and it looked good."

"I asked you if you wanted anything."

"You wouldn't have liked my answer if I told you what I wanted." He looked away, using sarcasm as a way to get around the fact he was being serious.

Cuddy snorted. "Right, let me guess, in your bed...preferably naked and wanting...right?" She asked, a hint of a purr to her voice.

House looked up at her. "Now, now, Cuddy, there're children in the next room." He indicated to the TV room.

Cuddy chuckled. "Right, like you care."

"Like you don't." He shot back.

Cuddy then silenced her laughter. "Listen, I was wondering, would Cameron be able to watch Thomas for the day tomorrow?"

"And take away my only means of sanity after I see you all dolled up in your office?...Never."

"Come on House, I just need her for the day. Until I can find someone else to watch him."

"Why not Foreman? Or Chase? I'm sure they're just itching to watch a little boy and engross him with porn sites and playboy magazines." Said House spreading peanut butter on the bread.

"He's scared of men." Exclaimed Cuddy.

"True, if it weren't for the fact he all but cuddled up to me on the couch."

"You're an exception...for now."

"Since when?"

"Since I told him he could trust me to trust you to not hurt him...or me." House looked at Cuddy and then back at his sandwich, now spreading jelly on the other side.

House was silent for a few moments longer before slapping his sandwich together and turning around, eyeing Lisa as he bit into the sticky substance. "Fine, I'll talk to Cameron. But no promises."

"I'll give you a week off of clinic duty if you convince her." To seal the deal House smirked.

"Deal." It was barely audible through the peanut butter and jam, jammed into his mouth.

"Lisa?" Cuddy turned her head at the sound of Thomas' small voice to see him appear in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Are you coming back to watch the movie?" He asked, both hands on his sippy cup and half eaten sandwich.

"In a moment, I have to talk to Greg." House eyed Cuddy at her use of his real name. She rarely ever used his name.

"About what?" Asked the small boy.

"I need someone to watch you while I'm at work tomorrow." Said Lisa softly.

"Who is going to watch me?"

"You are way to curious for your own good." Remarked House, leaning on the counter, watching Thomas stare at him. "It's not polite to stare."

"You're not polite." Retorted the small boy.

House frowned and looked back at the boy. "I'm _so_ glad you noticed."

"Meanie." Muttered Thomas taking a small step into the kitchen.

"Baby." House watched tears fill Thomas' eyes and almost felt terrible for fighting back with a four year old.

"House!" Snapped Cuddy, standing up and walked over to House, they were so close, all House would have to do is lean down and their lips would touch.

"Oh my Lord! Smite the evil that has come upon me!" Shouted Greg, looking up at the ceiling in mock prayer.

"Do you thrive off of making little kids cry?" She hissed.

"Are you going to continue with the lecture or kiss me? Personally I don't mind the foreplay-" He was cut off by her hand coming into contact with his shoulder. He stared at her for a moment. Did she just slap him? On the shoulder?

Her pointer finger waved in front of his face as she yelled at him to not make Thomas cry ever again. He wasn't really paying much attention, he couldn't get over the fact she struck him. It wasn't hard enough to do real damage but it was firm enough to get the point across.

"Either," He started, cutting her off from her ranting, almost forgetting Thomas was latched onto her thigh again, sobbing softly into her jeans. "you stop yelling and comfort the kid, or I take you by your shoulders and haul you into a mind numbing kiss. Take your pick." He said it low and almost dangerous like. Cuddy's eyebrows raised and she gave him a 'you-did-not-just-say-that' look.

She was going to retort, yell, scream, hiss, threaten, anything that would make him wish he had never said that but the realization of the fact Thomas was, indeed, still crying made her come to her senses. She looked down and pried Thomas off her thigh and lifted him into a warm and welcoming embrace. She gave House a dirty look before turning and walking into the TV room. She muttered little sweet nothings to comfort the small boy and resumed to watching 'The Land Before Time'.

House blew out a breath, if he knew Cuddy, which he did, she was not going to let his actions and choice of words slide. He limped, with his new cane, to Cuddy's TV room as discreetly as he could and retrieved her phone. When Cuddy or Thomas kept watching the screen, House limped quietly back into the kitchen and dialed Cameron's cell number.

"Hello?" She finally answered after the second ring.

"How's the patient?"

"She's fine. Where are you?" He decided it was good to hear Cameron's voice and her concern intertwine with it. He imagined the curious yet concerned expression on her flawless face as he spoke.

"At Cuddy's. Apartment flooded, it's a long story. Listen, I need you to do Cuddy a favor."

"Uh, okay." She sounded surprised and all the more curious. House told her about Thomas and his scenario along with Cuddy taking him in and needing a babysitter for the next day. He finished and waited for her answer. "Sure, I guess I could do it. It's only for tomorrow right?"

"Only for tomorrow."

"Why isn't Cuddy asking me this herself."

"Because you're _my_ lapdog, not hers and because she's pissed at me."

"What does being pissed at you have anything to do with asking me?"

"I don't know, it's one of those Cuddy things." Her small laugh made him smile a bit, she was almost like the little sister he never had. It was good to hear a voice like hers and not think of anything sexual about them. He had to admit that at first, he thought about her in all the wrong ways but now, after they went on that date a couple years ago, she didn't strike him as anything more than a sister figure.

"What time do you want me there tomorrow?" She asked after a moments pause.

"Come around seven. Cuddy leaves at seven-thirty to make for the hospital at eight." He imagined she nodded when there was no voiced agreement.

"I'll be there." She said after realizing they were on the phone and House couldn't see her nod.

"Thanks." After he said that, he quickly clicked the off button and set the phone down on the table.

Later, when Thomas had his fill of movies and it was time for him to go to bed, Cuddy took him in her room where she helped him change and examined his back make sure the colour was coming back. Once satisfied that his skin colour was slowly coming back, she laid down with him for about ten minutes before he got to sleep and she strode out of her room. She saw Greg propped on the couch with his cane leaning on the coffee table.

She sat down next to him and stared at him for a few moments.

"You know, I can't read minds so no matter how loud you speak in your head, I'm not going to hear you." Cuddy couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Don't worry, I wasn't speaking that loud." Came her retort.

"Cameron, will be here around seven-thirty to watch Thomas." His gaze was fixed on the TV.

"Thank you." He glanced at her and nodded.

"Are you hungry?" She asked suddenly.

"Hungry for sex, but other than that I'm good." She rolled her eyes.

"No Greg, I'm not giving you sex."

"You owe me." He looked at her straight in the eyes. "I didn't have to call Cameron but I did. So, you owe me." She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him.

"Are you trying to manipulate me into having sex with you?" Her voice lowered as she spoke.

"More or less." He smirked at her but was taken aback when she leaned in forward. She smirked back at him and brought her lips up to his. Their position was awkward, she was still on the cushion next to Greg, pinning him on either side of the couch to keep balance.

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. He leaned down to touch his lips to hers, wanting more than an innocent kiss. He wrapped his hands around either of her sides and hauled her up onto his lap so she was straddling his hips. His mouth worked hers until she gave in and let his tongue into her mouth to explore this new territory of her. They played tongue wars with each other until their jaws tired and they needed air.

His hands rode up her back and into her hair as she kissed her way down his jaw to kiss and suck on his neck. He sighed, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. The wonders her skilled mouth was doing to him were unbelievable. He wanted to loose control and take her right then and there but held back, curious as to what else Cuddy had in store for him. She then kissed up to his ear and whispered,

"Not quite sex but it's good enough as payment." He only registered what she said when she pulled away from him. He frowned up at her and she laughed.

"You didn't honestly think I'd be that easy and let you guilt me into sex did you?"

"You were pretty convincing just now." Retorted House, sitting up, trying to make himself more comfortable as his erection got in the way of his sitting position.

She leaned down a bit and smirked with a gleam in her eyes. "How do you think we get all those donors each year." She then straightened and strode to her room.

"Nice." He looked down at his cane and back to the TV. He knew Lisa was just joshing him, no need to be jealous right? Thats what he tried to convince himself of for at least ten minutes before getting up and entering the spare bedroom.

After freshening up in the bathroom and taking care of his erection, he took off his clothes, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. He noticed Lisa already had Steve in a small nest like bed with a wire bowl, big enough for him to run around in, was keeping him from running around free in the house. He laid down and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

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**Heyya guys! Thank you all so much for enjoying my story. Now, the only things I'm giving away for the next chapter is that, Cameron and Thomas bond a friendship, while Thomas' daddy isn't happy with Dr. Cuddy.**

**TBC...**


	5. Surprise!

**Disclaimer: Don't own House.**

**A/N: Hey, once again, thanks so much for enjoying the story! Sorry for the wait! Enjoy chapter 5 and review please!**

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Cuddy awoke to the sound of voices. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and turned to the pile of blankets that Thomas was _supposed_ to be under. After a moment of panic, she concentrated a bit and registered just whose voices they were. She got out of bed, grabbing her robe and pulling it on as she opened her door and stepped out into the corridor.

She followed the two hushed, yet seemingly loud, voices until she was in the kitchen. What she saw amazed her. House was sitting on a chair with Thomas in the one opposite to his. House dealt them both two cards, laid three faced down and put three others faced up with the deck in the middle. He threw in a salt and vinegar chip, telling Thomas to either throw one in or put in two. Thomas decided to match him and put in one chip.

Poker.

They were bonding and learning each other through a poker game. Cuddy sighed. It couldn't have looked anymore adorable or anymore pathetic.

"Dr. Cuddy, would you care to join us?"

"Her name is Lisa," retorted Thomas, giving Greg a glare.

House frowned at him. "A little touchy, aren't we?" House laid down a card from the deck and threw in three chips. Thomas threw in three as well. 

"You're teaching a four year old how to play poker?"

"Actually…" He tried to think of a smart lie but nothing good came to mind. "Yeah."

Lisa rolled her eyes, walked over to Thomas and put a hand on his shoulder. She kissed the top of his head, rubbing his shoulder the way a mother would to her child. House didn't miss the action or the slight smirk that came upon her face when she leant down to get a look at his cards and glancing towards the four cards on the table.

"You're in shit, House," commented Cuddy, smirking up at him.

"Shit?" repeated Thomas.

House smirked, looking down at the deck and put down another card. As he did this, Cuddy stared dumbfounded at the four year old. She broke out into a smirk and wrapped on arm around his head, bringing him into a gentle hug.

"Don't say that," she said to Thomas, firmly but gently.

"Why not?"

"Because it's a bad word."

"Then why did _you_ say it?" asked Thomas, frowning in childish confusion.

"Because I'm 36 years older than you," she replied, running a hand through his soft, wavy hair.

"My God! Is that how old you are?" House's outburst had Cuddy back on alert and she glared at him.

"You're in no position to talk; you're 42 years older than him."

"No, I _never _would have guessed. Oh! Except for the fact I went to school," snapped House, putting his cards face up on the table. He had two Queens in his hand and one on the table.

"And cheated off of every person you sat beside," she retorted cheekily and smirked when Thomas put his cards down. "Look, House! A four year old beat you with a royal straight."

The look on House's face was priceless. Cuddy let out a merry laugh which had House scowling at her. "Beginner's luck," muttered House and glared at Thomas' smirking face.

Grinning, Cuddy turned to the clock on the wall and swore when she saw that it was already six-thirty. She quickly rounded the corner to her room and closed the door. House pushed the salt and vinegar chip pile onto Thomas' pile and leaned back.

"You should get dressed. Cameron's going to be here soon."

"No. I don't want to." Thomas crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"Thomas! Come get ready!" called Cuddy from her room, totally oblivious to the fact House had just tried to instruct Thomas to do the same and failed miserably. What annoyed House more was that Thomas' eyes brightened as he got up and ran from the kitchen.

About thirty minutes later Cuddy came out of her room, all spruced up and back in administrative attire. House was thankful that he had packed another shirt in his bag to wear to work. He didn't mind wearing the same jeans a few days in a row but the same shirt was a bit too much, even for him.

A firm knock on her front door resounded through her home, causing Cuddy to jump slightly. She quickly composed herself, however, and went to the door. She opened it and smiled at Cameron, stepping aside to let the young doctor inside.

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice," said Cuddy, putting a hand on Cameron's arm. The younger doctor nodded, smiling a little, her rigid posture giving away her discomfort and nervousness. "Thomas is in my room. He's…getting ready." House was around the corner, in the kitchen, frowning. The kid shouldn't still be 'getting ready'. He was fully aware that Lisa helped him get dressed and brushed his hair as well as his teeth. Unless she meant that he was getting ready to come out and face someone new, he couldn't place why he'd be 'getting ready'.

"Help yourself if you get hungry. The bathroom is down that hall," stated Cuddy, pointing both. She glared at the impatient diagnostician who seemed to be trying to hurry her up. He just glared back and followed Cameron and Cuddy's every move. Cuddy held back a smile and led Cameron to the TV room.

Cameron couldn't help but wonder or assume that her boss and her boss' boss were having an affair. In a way, she was slightly jealous. She had always wondered what it would be like to have her blue-eyed boss buried deep inside her, always wondered what it would be like to wake up next to him and catch him staring down at her with a smug smirk on his face. She shook her head and dismissed the thoughts quickly. It was clear that House had no interest in her; she would just have to back off this time. Besides, she was already busy trying to get Chase off her back while trying in vain not to succumb to her attraction for the Australian doctor.

"Lisa!" Thomas' small voice called from her room. In seconds Cuddy was walking towards her bedroom door, almost stretching the polyester, pencil slim skirt on her way to the four year old.

She opened her door and walked in, closing the door a bit after her. "Yes?"

"Is she here?" His voice was hushed. Cuddy reached out to him and he leaned into her embrace.

"Yes, she's here. Her name is Allison Cameron, she's a friend of mine and Greg's. I'll be back around six okay?" Thomas nodded, his wavy, shag-like dark hair falling into his face. She ran her fingers through it. "You need a hair cut."

He smiled. "No!" He slapped both hands down on top of his head, his white teeth biting down onto his bottom lip as he smiled wide. Amusement shone in his eyes as his smile broadened when Lisa smiled back and poked his stomach, causing him to giggle a bit and fold his arms over his small tummy.

"I hate to break up your little farewell ceremony but I do believe it's time to go." House stood in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe, clearly amused by their antics.

Thomas frowned at him while Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Since when do you care if you're late?" questioned Cuddy.

"Since I had to hitch a ride with my boss, who'll complain about being late the whole way to the hospital. Duh!" retorted House.

"Fine," Cuddy grumbled and kissed Thomas' forehead.

Thomas grinned. "Ew." He wiped the kiss away and went into a giggle fit when Lisa attacked his stomach with random pokes. While she distracted him with her pokes to the stomach she kissed his head. Once satisfied with giving him a kiss and him not wiping it away, she stopped her playful assault and stood up straight. She turned and stopped abruptly when she nearly bumped into Cameron's small frame. She didn't miss the small smile of affection on Cameron's lips.

"Sorry," muttered the young doctor as she stepped out of the way to let Cuddy and House walk past her. Thomas latched onto Cuddy's thigh and refused to let go.

"Thomas, I have to go to work, let go." Thomas shook his head.

"Stay here with me."

Cuddy nearly folded and gave in but House's voice caught everyone's attention. "Hey, Thomas!" The small boy looked up and glared at House and buried his face back into Lisa's thigh. "Bet you can't beat Cameron at poker."

"Could so," he said into her skirt.

"Nu-uh. Only big boys can beat big…girls at poker. You are a big boy aren't you?" he asked, leaning on his new cane.

The boy took his face away from her thigh. "Yeah."

"I don't think Cameron thinks so. You should teach her a lesson and play a game of poker with her."

Thomas was silent for a moment, Cuddy and Cameron both staring at Thomas and then at House, who kept eye contact with the boy.

"Okay. You're coming back at six tonight, right Lisa?" asked Thomas, crooking his neck to look up at her.

"That's right. Behave okay?" She gave him an 'I'm-not-kidding' look and was fully satisfied when he nodded and let go of her. She walked out the door with House limping behind her. Cameron followed to lock the door after them.

"Nice one, House. Who knew you had it in you to be so soft to a child?" Cuddy remarked, sliding into the driver's side and buckling her belt.

"What can I say? I'm a regular fish out of water. You on the other hand are _way _too soft on the kid," he replied, sliding in beside Cuddy and buckling his own belt.

"What did you want me to do? Yell at him to let go?" She started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

"No, that would be completely irrational. I expected you not to look like you were about to fold and give in to his…childness and handle the situation the way a normal mother would."

Cuddy froze, her brow frowning. "Childness isn't a word and I'm not his mother."

"It is in _my_ vocabulary and you may not be _his_ mother but you certainly act like one." As he spoke, he never once looked away from her face.

"I do not." She quickly glared at him before turning back to the road.

"Yes, you do," he insisted, watching her every move, suddenly infatuated with the way she handled her car, the way her hands turned the steering wheel and the way her eyes never left the road as she took off down the street.

"Whatever," she muttered. She was fully aware of his stare but said nothing for a while. He eventually looked away and out the window at the other passing cars, causing her to let out a quiet breath and relax a bit. She hadn't forgotten the night before. If anything, she was going crazy over it because it had never once left her mind.

"Are you going to adopt him?" His voice brought her out of her reverie.

"I'm not sure. His father is still looking for him so I have to clear everything up with him." She stopped at a red light and took her hands off the wheel. She wanted to get a hold of herself, remembering she still had to call the man to tell him he wasn't going to get the chance to see Thomas ever again and that if he had a problem with that then she'd be glad to take it up with the police and social services.

"Don't say anything rash," warned House, seeing that glint in Cuddy's eye. Cuddy glanced at him and then back at the road when the light turned green. She put her hands back on the wheel and continued to drive to Princeton-Plainsboro.

"What makes you think I'll 'pull a you' and say something to make him attack me?" Her remark was sarcastic but she saw what he was trying to say and was silently grateful for his concern.

House was silent, he thought of making a snide remark, but he stopped himself, knowing she knew what he was trying to say.

"Thank you."

House looked at her. "For what?"

"Caring."

"Pfft. I don't care what happens to the kid. You on the other hand…if anything happens to you and you die…I'll have to learn how to manipulate and make sexual comments to a _new_ dean and depending on the gender of the new dean, that may not go over well." Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"You're infuriating." She said it dryly.

"I'm also quite the performer…if you know what I mean," he purred.

She chuckled. "Shut up, House." She pulled into her parking space and pulled the key out of the ignition. She unbuckled her belt and turned to open her door but House grabbed her arm. She turned back around, aware of the jolt of sexual attraction that suddenly shot through her body. Her sea blue eyes stared into his longing bright blue ones. "What is it?" She finally asked.

"I meant it, Cuddy. Don't do something I would do." She nodded once, giving him a look that told him he should let go before something happened. She turned back again and opened her door, slid out of the car and shivered with unexplained pleasure at the feel of House gently letting his fingers slide down her arm as she pulled out of his grasp.

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Meanwhile, Cameron had dealt the cards to the poker game Thomas was determined to win. They played with the chips from the game Thomas had won earlier from House. She laid three cards faced down and left three faced up. She threw two chips at the side of the table and waited while Thomas threw in three, making her throw in one more to stay in the game.

"So, Thomas," she started while laying down one card from the deck and glanced up at the boy.

"Yeah?" he asked throwing in two chips.

"Do you like it here?" She matched him and tossed in two.

"Yep."

"What do you like about it?" Cameron laid down another card and put her cards on the table, smirking at her pair of Queens.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

The young brunette took note that Thomas still hadn't laid down his cards but decided she cared more about his answer than the game.

"Oh come on, there's gotta be something you like a lot here." She propped her elbows on the table and watched his expression. His eyes kept darting from his cards to the ones on the table, trying to calculate if he had a good chance at winning. He then laid down his cards, showing a straight flush. Cameron frowned at Thomas cards, at the deck and then at hers.

"How-?" Thomas only shrugged and took the handful of chips on the side of the table and shoved them into his mouth. He then grabbed the chips he had won from his game with House and went into the TV room.

Cameron got up after putting the cards away and sat beside Thomas on the couch who was engrossed with watching 'Ben 10'.

"You didn't tell me why you like it here so much."

"I said I don't know." He smiled at her, crumbs from the chips sprinkled around his mouth.

"There's nothing you like about staying here? Nothing at all?"

Thomas looked at the couch for a moment and then back at her. "Lisa," he finally answered.

"You like Lisa?" He nodded, resuming watching Ben argue with his sister on the television screen.

She wanted to ask why, she wanted to know what was so great about her boss' boss that had captured this boy's heart and gained his trust. She knew he wouldn't answer her if she asked anymore questions right now. She was new in his life and was considered an 'outsider' to Thomas for the moment. He didn't know her and she didn't know him, therefore rejection was inevitable.

"Hey, you wanna go to the park?" asked Cameron and smiled wide when Thomas' eyes shone with unmistakable excitement. He jumped out of his seat, shoved the rest of the chips in his mouth and ran for the front door. He grabbed the blue and gray light-up shoes Lisa had bought him and slipped them on.

Cameron, thoroughly satisfied in making him happy, got up from the couch and slipped on her running shoes. She was dressed casually in jeans and a fitted red t-shirt. She lead the way to the car after locking the door with the key under the flowerpot House had used the year before to break into this very house and slipped the key into her pocket.

She opened the back door for the small boy and watched him buckle his seat belt before closing the door and heading for the driver side.

Once they were ready she started the engine and headed for the park near her apartment. It was clean and always had little kids there playing and having a good time. Every time she passed by it, children of all ages were there so she doubted Thomas would be bored.

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House strode into his office, ready for a full day free of clinic duty and Cameron, his two main annoyances. Not that he was necessarily rejoicing about it, like he usually would. To his surprise, he was actually curious how Cameron was doing with the little tyke. He smirked. The kid wasn't even his and he was already worrying over him. He'd be damned if he willingly let anyone, especially Cuddy, know that fact.

After pondering his current situation for a full five minutes, he picked up his phone and called the plumber, who told him that he'd managed to drain all the water but it would take three to six months to fix the main pipe and all the other apartments that were damaged. He also added that House would need new flooring put in and perhaps a new paint job and furniture, considering most of it had been damaged by the water.

Needless to say, House wasn't in the best of moods after that conversation had ended. He called a moving guy to move all his things out of his apartment and into Wilson's. Of course, he had to then call Wilson to warn him of the new change.

Chase and Foreman came into his office two hours later after doing tests and a bone marrow transplant on their latest patient.

"Where's Cameron?" asked Chase, frowning. He knew she hadn't arrived yet, considering he'd been here the whole night doing tests while Forman was forced to keep an eye on their patient for the night.

"Kid-sitting," he replied and tapped his cane on the floor.

Chase frowned. "Who?"

House looked up. "A kid. Hence the title 'kid-sitting.'" Forman rolled his eyes and gave him the stats on their patient.

"He has malaria," stated House.

"How do you know?" asked Chase.

"When you went to his house you said there were tons of mosquitoes. It explains the chills and spiked fever," reasoned House.

"But you only get malaria through the mosquitoes in a tropical country," countered Forman.

"If SARS can travel from Asia to America, malaria can travel from tropical countries to America. Duh!" retorted House.

"But it doesn't explain his vomiting, aching stomach or migraine," Chase piped in, sighing from obvious fatigue.

"The malaria weakened his immune system, causing the influenza to infect his body. Because the malaria infected his immune system, the flu was a lot worse than it should have been."

Forman nodded. "I'll start him on antibiotics." House said nothing. He just stared into space until he noticed Chase hadn't moved from his spot.

"If you're wondering where Cameron is, I just told you. You can phone her to find out what she's doing but I already gave you that answer." Chase said nothing for a moment.

"I don't care what she does or where she is. I was only curious." His voice sounded bitter and his stride was a little more rigid than usual as he left.

"Yep, he's still got the hots for her," muttered House as sat back in his chair for a few moments before deciding to go see his favorite Dean of Medicine.

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Cuddy sat at her desk signing form after form until her door was flung open. She glared up from her papers, expecting to see House but instead saw a very angry looking man. She managed to keep the frown off her face as she tried to remember who he was. After a few seconds, it hit her.

It was Thomas' father.

"Good afternoon. May I help you with something?" she asked, motioning for him to sit down. She bitterly glanced down at his big hands. The same hands that beat Thomas' back day after day. She took note that there was a tinge of pink to his knuckles. The lack of hitting something was bringing the color back to his skin.

"You lied to me." He ignored her gesture to sit down. She gave him a tilt of her head and a confused expression.

"What did I lie about Mr…"

"Rex Finch," he hissed nastily, his brown eyes showing flashes of restrained anger.

"Right. Mr. Finch, what was it I lied about?" She propped her elbows on her desk. She frowned at him, telling him he'd have to be more specific.

"A couple days ago I was here lookin' for ma boy and asked if you sawed 'em. You told me no and said you'd call once you found 'em…which you never did." His hands were on his spiked belt, the tattoo of a naked woman on his bicep flexed with every move he made. He wore what typical bikers wore: leather pants with buckles all over, an open jacket, and spikes on his wrist bands.

"You're right. I lied." She quickly got up and moved around her desk to stand directly in front of him and make herself a little more intimidating. "In fact, when you came to see me, he was already in here, hiding." She had to crane her neck to look up at him but she had on her best 'I'm-the-boss-here' face as she stood up to him. She wondered how he found out she lied. Did one of the nurses tell him they'd seen her with his boy on her way out a couple days ago?

The man swore under his breath, glancing away from Lisa and back into her fierce gaze. "Where's ma boy, bitch?" Cuddy raised an eyebrow at his command and referral to her.

"He's in a safe place, bastard," she countered, forgetting her professional manners.

The man's hands trembled with anger.

"I saw the bruises on his back. I also noticed your knuckles were, and still are, red. That sort of redness to the knuckles means that you've been hitting something, or someone, constantly." She watched as she reduced the big man's pride to dirt. She enjoyed the panic in his eyes and the quiver of his mouth as he tried to speak, to defend himself, but nothing came out. "You beat Thomas and I'll be damned if I let you take him back. I'll see you in court, Mr. Finch."

He brought his gaze to her face. He tightened the muscles in his arm and raised it.

And that's when she knew he was going to hit her.

Cuddy realized it and could have dodged his arm but she didn't. She watched his eyes as panic and anger ran through them and dared him to strike her. With a quick jerk of his body, his hand came into contact with her cheek. Her head jerked to the side and she was forced to take a step back to balance herself. A few strands of hair fell into her face as she looked up at the man in shock. Her hand came up to her cheek, her mouth slightly agape.

Before either of them could move or speak her door flew open and a very angry House moved as fast as his bum leg could carry him over to Cuddy.

"Hey! Haven't you ever heard that hitting a woman is illegal?" He had already guessed who the man was. He had watched the whole scene from outside Cuddy's office. A few other nurses had seen as well. As soon as the man's hand came into contact with Lisa's cheek, unexplained rage coursed through him while the other nurses gasped and picked up the phone to call security.

Rex raised his fist a second time and was about to strike him, but House was quicker. He moved his cane between Rex's legs and brought it up, slamming the metal like cane into his sack. Rex keeled over and clutched himself before going down on both knees.

"Cheap…shot," he choked out.

"Yeah but you hit a woman. Who's more pathetic, me or you?" House's voice was dangerously low. Rex didn't get the chance to answer. Two security guards came through the door and picked him up by his arms and carried him out of the office.

"Is everything all right here?" asked one of the guards.

House glanced at Cuddy, who covered her cheek with her hair. She nodded to the guard who turned away and left the office, oblivious to the fact Cuddy was still in pain.

House turned to Cuddy who already had her back turned to the rest of the hospital. Personally he didn't know what to do. He was stuck between concern and awkwardness about the whole situation.

"Are you okay?" he asked, glancing down at the floor.

"I'll be fine," came her quiet reply. He watched her as she brought her hand up to her cheek, rubbing it slightly.

He sighed and limped over to her. He took her hand and slowly removed it from her cheek.

"Let me see," he muttered. She swatted his hand away, protesting. "Shut up, I'm trying to see how badly it's going to bruise." With that, she stopped squirming and brought her hands down to her side. He smirked at his victory and tucked her soft dark locks behind her ear. His smirk disappeared when he saw the red hand print. A small bruise would form and perhaps some swelling but there wasn't any real bad trauma. "You'll be fine. Just put some ice on it to help the swelling."

Cuddy pulled away, swatting at his hands again. "I could have told you that. I _am _a doctor, you know."

"No, you're the Dean of this hospital, totally responsible for the things that come out of _my_ mouth." His temper flared. "You're supposed to be the responsible one! The one that makes things better, not worse. Damn it, Cuddy, he _hit _you!" Cuddy stared at him bewildered.

"Why are you so angry? He hit _me_, not _you_. You don't get to be mad!" She spat back with a temper of her own.

"I'm angry because I told you not to say something stupid that would get you hurt and you go ahead and do it anyway! Did I not warn you that he was dangerous?!"

"Well now you know how _I_ feel every time I have to deal with your disobedience," retorted Cuddy.

Both of their tempers were being held back by a single thread of willpower. Bright blue eyes glared furiously into angry sea blue ones.

"That's not the point. The point is Thomas' beast-of-a-father is now going to be after your ass and you have no defense against him because he's twice your size! Explain to me how you plan to defend yourself _and _Thomas against someone as massive as him!"

"If this is bugging you so much then back off and stay out of it," hissed Cuddy. House fell silent, taking in the fact she had basically told him to mind his own business.

"No." His retort was simple, yet sincere. Before Cuddy could slap him, yell at him, or do anything to get the last word, he turned and slammed her door open. He walked furiously to the elevator and punched the up button.

For the better half of the day, everyone steered clear of both doctors as they made it clear they were not in the mood to be bothered by anyone. They even avoided each other, getting others to introduce new patient files and consults for patient's surgeries.

James Wilson was stuck in the middle of it, trying to reassure Cuddy that House's only intention was to seem reassuring and was trying to be a friend. At the same time was trying to calm House down. He tried to tell him that Cuddy was just scared. He tried telling him that because she's been on her own for so many years, she pushed him away and tried to act tough but what she really wanted was for him to comfort her, no matter how resentful she may have seemed. For the most part it had worked, except for when they accidentally ran into each other in the clinic. Then everything Wilson had told them was completely forgotten as they exchanged insults that could be filed as sexual harassment.

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Cameron and Thomas strode into the house just after six.

"Did you see the look on his face, Alli?" giggled Thomas uncontrollably.

Cameron grinned at him, taking the key out of the door and tossing it on to the table by the door. "Yeah I saw. The poor ice cream man won't ever know what hit him…literally."

Thomas and Cameron walked into the kitchen. "Hungry?" Thomas shook his head. "I should hope not. You had two hot dogs, a package of Pokey and ice cream. Where did you put it all?"

"My tummy!" He laughed and slapped both hands on his stomach.

"I bet." She smiled and ruffled his hair. "You need a hair cut."

"No!" He smiled as he slapped both hands on his head. "Lisa said I need one too."

"She's right you know."

"Nu-uh."

Before Cameron got another word in, they heard the front door unlock. Cuddy strode in and threw her keys on the table.

"Lisa!" Thomas called through the house and the sound of small feet padding through the hall could be heard.

"Hey Thomas!" She bent down and scooped him up into a warm hug. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too. Look at what Alli bought me!" Thomas stepped back a bit so Cuddy could see the X-Men shirt Cameron had bought him. She smirked at the nickname Thomas had thought up for Cameron.

Alli. It was kind of cute.

"It's a very nice shirt. Did you tell Cam- I mean Allison, that she has very nice taste in clothes."

"You have very nice taste in clothes, Alli." Thomas looked back at Cameron who smiled warmly at him. "Yup! I said it!"

"Good. Now go watch TV." Thomas ran over to the couch and pounced on it. He grabbed the remote and squealed at the sight of the Teen Titans.

"He wasn't too much trouble was he?" questioned Cuddy, standing up straight and walking into the kitchen.

Cameron shook her head. "Not at all. We went to the park where he made a few friends. Then went to the mall and looked around there for a bit."

"Where's Greg?" asked Thomas, suddenly remembering the diagnostician that spent the night there. He frowned a bit and got up from the couch and peered around Lisa's thigh to the door just in case he didn't see House slip in after her.

"He…went home." Truth was…she had no idea where Greg was. She had gone to his office around five to catch him before he left to ask him if he planned on staying at her house again but he wasn't there. She tried the clinic and Wilson's office but he wasn't in either of those places. Which was good because she would have told him to kiss her ass if he said he planned on staying at her place again.

"Oh." Thomas almost sounded sad at the knowledge of House not staying over again.

"Well, I better get going," started Cameron. "Bye Thomas." She bent down to give him a hug.

"Bye Alli." He hugged her and wiped off her kiss but smiled brightly at her.

"I'll pay you for this on your next pay check." Cameron nodded and left, already feeling sorry to have to leave.

After Cameron left, Lisa turned and looked down at Thomas who still had both arms wrapped securely around her thigh.

"Have fun today?"

"Yeah! I hit the ice cream man. How are you today?" Lisa frowned. What the hell?

"You hit the ice cream man? Any reason why?" She raised a brow at him.

"He was staring at Alli's…um, what are they called?" Thomas reached up and poked Lisa's breasts. Cuddy took his hands in hers and smirked at his innocence.

"They're called breasts. You don't ever touch a woman's breasts."

"Why?"

"Because it's not nice."

"Oh. Well the man was staring at them and Alli didn't like it so I took a rock and hit him with it." Thomas smiled mischievously at her as he told her the story. He broke out laughing. "You should have seen his face! It was like this," Thomas crossed his eyes and opened his mouth in a dopey way. When Lisa smiled at him he uncrossed his eyes and smiled back.

Lisa moved her hair away from her face and cleared her throat.

"Why is your cheek red and black?" asked Thomas, his eyes widening, obviously recognizing a bruise when he saw one.

"I…got hit today. At work." There was no sense in lying to him. He already knew something wasn't right just by looking at it.

Thomas looked up at Lisa. He rolled up his sleeve and looked from his bruise to Lisa's. When he saw the bruises were similar in the size and shape, he knew right away it was his father.

His eyes filled with tears.

"Don't cry. I'm okay," she said softly but took him into a warm embrace. Soft sobs turned into harder ones as Lisa hugged him and sat on the couch. "He doesn't know you're here." It relaxed him a bit but he still cried. It was melting her, melting her so much she was on the verge on spilling her own tears. Her tears weren't for herself though; they were for Thomas. For the boy who had to live every day in fear of being caught by his father and dragged back into hell.

She started stroking his back in soft soothing motions to get him to calm down. About ten minutes later he stopped crying and sniffed. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and sat up.

"What time is it?" he asked.

Lisa looked at her clock. "Six thirty."

"Is that late?"

"Almost." He rested his head back down on her shoulder and the two of them just stayed there, saying and watching nothing. She let him find comfort and strength from her as they sat. She watched, from her window, as the sun went down and cast pretty colors into the sky.

Thomas' breathing soon became soft and deep. He was asleep. She got up and made her way into her room. Lisa went over to her bed and pulled the blankets away to lay Thomas on the bed. She took off his socks and shirt, leaving him in his jeans. She pulled the covers up and over Thomas' small frame. She kissed his forehead before leaving the room to find something to eat.

As she made her way down the hall, a tall body emerged from the shadows, catching up to her near the corner to enter the kitchen. He wrapped a hand around her face to cover her mouth and muffle her scream of surprise and fear. His arm went around her waist to hold her body in place against his.

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** So, what do ya think? Pretty suspenseful isn't it? Well I'll give you a hint, it's either House or Rex. I'm so evil I'm not gonna tell you which. I'm sure I know all your guesses and you're probably right. **


	6. Floor Kissing!

**Disclaimer: I don't own House.**

**A/N: Ello ello! Thanks for waiting, I refused to update until a certain friend of mine updated - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!- Happy reading. This was edited by my very lovely HouseAddiction.**

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Cuddy's eyes widened in fear. She started struggling but nothing she did was any good.

"Shh, stop squirming." Relief course through her when she recognized the rough voice. She relaxed and he let her go. But her relief was short lived. It quickly dissipated and anger took it's place. She whirled around and glared at him.

It was a major turn on to see her look at him that particular way. "What? You would have screamed and waken the poor kid."

"How long have you been here?" She put her hands on her hips and leaned one foot giving him her best 'I want and answer and I want it now' face.

"Since five."

She sneered in disgust. "That's just damn creepy, House. What the hell are you doing here?"

He glanced at a vase near her front door before looking back at her. "You told me that if this whole situation was bugging me, to stay out of it." She raised her eye brows at him wanting more of an explanation. "Well Dr. Cuddy, as you know, I'm terrible at following orders so I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"Really…" She raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yup, I called the cops, told them what happened and we are now expected to be in court on March 16th. What day is it today? March 2nd. That gives us about two weeks to prepare for the judge." He smiled innocently at her as he watched her explode on the inside with rage.

She spent a moment trying to put a handle on her rage before she exploded.

It didn't work.

"Why would you do that?!" she yelled uncrossing her arms and flailing, missing House's face by inches.

House dodged her arms and frowned at her. "Usually when a woman, such as yourself, gets hit by a possible murderer, one calls the cops. It would also be wise if a woman, such as yourself, wanted to keep the kid, to get legal approval to be his guardian or mom or however it works."

Her eyes narrowed at him. Yes she was grateful for what he had done but that just proved how weak she was and she hated to know her rival, her employee, the secret lust of her life, was stronger than her in every way.

"You had no right," she hissed at him.

"Free country." He was very aware his calm demeanor was aggravating her even more but he loved to see her all riled up.

"I was supposed to make that call."

House frowned. Why was she so upset about who called the cops first? His eyes narrowed at her. "Don't worry. You can thank me later."

Cuddy looked at him and laughed. She wanted to hit him and yell at him but at that same time she wanted to kiss him, thank him, cry on him. She didn't know what to do so she just smiled and gave a small laugh and headed into her kitchen.

"What's your problem? I do you a favor and you yell at me for it." He leaned on the wall that led into the kitchen. Her back was turned to him as she looked into her fridge for something to eat. It was also, House calculated, a way to avoid the question.

When he got no answer he went over to her and closed the fridge. She tried opening it but he held it shut. She gave up trying to pull it open and glared at him, her head tilted and jaw set to give him that 'I'm-not-in-the-mood' look.

"Now either you answer me and I let you eat something or you say nothing to me all night with an empty stomach." He gave her a look that told her to pick the easy answer but knowing Cuddy, her pride would spike and she'd starve herself just so she wouldn't have to answer.

"Let go of my damn fridge." Her voice was low and angry.

He looked up at the ceiling, pretending to think about it. "Um…no." He smirked at her.

She glared at him once more before she turned and went to her cupboards.

Damn, he hadn't thought about those.

He stopped her from opening them by blocking her way and slamming his cane on the cupboards as she opened them, making them close with a loud thud. When she dashed for her fridge he stuck out his cane and tripped her. To make sure she didn't get up and attack him, he flipped her over on her back and straddled her waist, being careful not to harm her or his right leg.

She struggled, trying to hit him but he caught her wrists and pinned them above her head. She tried pushing up with her hips but that only caused her skirt to rid up her thighs. She stopped after a few minutes and glared up at him, panting heavily.

"Get the hell off of me. I'm not kidding House."

"Only if you tell me what your damn problem is."

"My problem is you pinning me to my floor!" she hissed at him.

"You know what I mean. I call the cops for you so you don't have to worry about doing it and then you yell at me for it. Why?" His serious gaze was mixed in with lust for the gorgeous woman underneath him.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" she snipped at him.

"Yeah I would."

She sighed and gave in. The floor wasn't exactly comfortable when you had a man pinning you down with your spine digging into the floor.

"Thomas is my responsibility. I should have been the one to call the cops. Not you," she said softly.

"Why didn't you do it then?"

"I wanted to be sure if Thomas wanted to stay with me or not once he was out of his father's custody. After I got my answer I was going to call."

"Why hadn't you asked him?"

"For God's sake, House! I was going to tonight but he saw the bruise on my cheek and instantly knew his father did it. The last thing he needed was to be emotionally weak and say yes because he felt remorse for me." She looked away from him and took a deep breath…which was a mistake because her chest heaved, causing House's eyes to immediately avert to her chest to watch them move.

A flutter of arousal passed through her body at the sight of House watching her chest move up and down. Her cheeks flushed a slight pink and she cleared her throat causing his gaze to snap back to hers.

"I think you should get your ass up and off of me before I…" She let her sentence trail as she glared into the brightest blue she had ever seen.

"Before you what?" he challenged. He squeezed her hands tighter and pinned them more firmly to the floor. She made a small sound of discomfort and tried to lift her hands but of course he had the advantage of being on top and at least twice her strength. She tried once more but again got nowhere and breathed a bit heavily at the effort and force she tried to use. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I hate you," she bit out.

"Who doesn't?" he snapped back.

"Good point you immature jack ass."

"Teasing snob."

"Slacker."

"Traitor."

"Bastard."

"Bitch."

"Fuck you."

"Personally I prefer a bed but the floor will do just fine."

"Sick idiot."

"Party pooper."

"Depressed culprit."

"Workaholic."

"At least I do my work."

"And never have fun."

"I do too."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"When was the last time you really had fun?"

Cuddy stayed silent and looked away from him, who chuckled at his victory. If she couldn't get him off of her with biting words, she'd try non-responsive.

His wide grin turned into a small smirk at the sight of her distraught gaze aimed at the floor past him. Suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore. Something about her…the way she looked right now, under him, upset…it did something to his heart.

It made it beat faster, made his stomach flutter with unwanted butterflies in an almost guilty way. Her hair rested under her head and on the floor, leaving only a few thick strands to rest on top of her shoulders. She refused to look at him, to retort back, to do anything that would get him to leave her alone and that scared the shit out of him.

"What? No comment?"

"Get off me, House." Her voice was low and with almost no power to it. He raised an eyebrow at her and didn't move.

"I quite like how your body fits with mine actually. Perhaps I'll just stay here."

Still without looking at him she responded. "You have to sleep sometime."

Okay, this was pissing him off. Why the hell wouldn't she get angry?! Angry, annoyed Cuddy he was pro at dealing with. On the other hand the distressed, non responsive Cuddy he was facing currently he _couldn't_ deal with. It was just…awkward. He had only dealt with this Cuddy a few times while they worked together so it wasn't something he was accustomed to dealing with.

He suddenly grinned down at her as she finally looked up at him. "What-?" She was cut off by his mouth crashing down on hers. Her eyes widened from sheer surprise and she completely tensed.

Well that was unexpected.

He worked his mouth over hers, trying to pry a reaction out of her. When he got none he loosened his grip on her hands and eventually let one go to slide down her hair to her cheek. He caressed her soft skin while she couldn't figure out if she should respond or push him away from her.

She decided to just go for it and kissed him back with as much force as he was using. Cuddy lifted her upper body to add a bit more pressure and push back. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth for his hot, skilled, questing tongue. Her free hand dove into his hair and gripped the back of his head, pulling him closer to her.

She groaned, forgetting she had a guest in the other room that could wake up at any second and catch them in their current situation. Why was she doing this with the man that she was mad at beyond reason? His hand caressed a spot just under the back of her neck, slowly relieving the tension. She sighed and leaned down on the floor and let his skilled hands work the tension out of her neck. She could think about why she was playing around with her employee later. Right now House's hands were doing wonders on her neck and she didn't want to think of anything for the moment.

"And you say you hate me," se started. She closed her eyes and grinned.

"You can massage all you want. I'm still going to hate you." House smirked. He had been waiting for that. His hands then traveled around her neck to her shoulders. They then slowly came down over her chest. He watched as her mouth opened a bit as pleasure coursed through her and her face softened as he got closer to her breasts. Just a few more inches and he'd be there.

Cuddy then raised an eyebrow as she kept her eyes closed. So that was his game was it?

"House…" He looked up disappointed. His hands stopped at one spot to keep massaging just above her breasts.

"If you dare go any further…" He smirked. That was a dare, a challenge. He loved them, Cuddy should know that. He took his massaging hands just a bit lower so they were fully on her breasts.

Her eyes then shot open. She brought her hand up and swung down but her hand never came into contact with his cheek. He caught her hand in his and squeezed it tight enough so she couldn't pull it out of his grasp. She tried to push him off her with her other hand but he took it in the same one that had her other and pinned them above her head. Her sea blue eyes flashed with temper as she tried to lift her hips to get him off of her.

"Damn you!" she cursed and gave up, realizing she wasn't going to get him off of her.

He smirked. "Come on, The Great Dean of Medicine _must _have more stamina than that. Isn't that why our donors come back so frequently?"

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

She snarled at him and gave him a dirty look. There was a hint of a smirk on his lips as he stared down at her. A movement in the other room caught his attention but Cuddy didn't seem to hear it.

"What is it?" she asked when she noticed his eyes widened a bit and he froze. He scrambled up and snatched his cane. Cuddy got up after him and just in the nick of time because Thomas rounded the corner with half closed, bloodshot eyes.

He wiped his eyes with his hands and squinted as he came in further into the kitchen towards Lisa. He went to her thigh and pressed his head into it.

"Are you okay Thomas?" asked Cuddy putting a hand on his head.

He shook his head.

"What's the matter?" House rolled his eyes and ignored Cuddy's glare.

"I had a bad dream."

"Here we go," muttered House. "If you need me, I'll be sleeping."

Cuddy was about to protest but stopped when Thomas hugged her around her thighs. She picked him up and watched as House left the kitchen to go to sleep in _her _spare room. She listened as Thomas told her that in his dream, his father came to her house and tried to take him away but she had said no and he started beating her and there was nothing he could do to stop his dad and then eventually she gave up fighting and started bleeding all over the place and died.

Thomas started to cry again.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, right? That won't ever happen. I promise." She whispered gentle soothing phrases like that to calm him down. Once he was calm again a thought came to her mind. "Want a popsicle?"

The small boy nodded and got off of her so she could go get him one. She chose the blue and gave it to him after she opened it. He put it in his mouth and lifted his arms to her, indicating he wanted her to pick him up and hold him.

She grinned at him but picked him up and rubbed her hand over his back as he ate.

"I thought Greg went home," said Thomas quietly.

"He…came back to see how we were." It wasn't completely a lie. He came back to tell her he had arranged for them to go to court, which was totally watching out for her and now that she thought about it, she had no right, no reason to flip out on him for trying to be there for her, for trying to be her friend. She sighed in regret. She wondered how many times someone had pushed him away when he tried to be there, when he tried to just be a friend. Was that why he refused to let anyone get too close?

"Will Greg always be here to see how we are?" asked Thomas as he sucked on his popsicle.

"I don't know, hon. We'll talk to him about that later," she whispered quietly.

Little did she know House was listening to the conversation. He listened to the tone of her voice, trying to find a certain edge to it that always told him she was feeling guilty. He found easily and smirked. He got her every time. It was easy as hell to make her feel guilty, sad and terrible about herself. He found he had pretty much mastered those tasks.

His smirk faltered a bit.

What he hadn't mastered, was making her happy, smile with affection towards him and feel incredible about herself in every way possible. He had never tried those things before today and even then she took it as him trying to beat her at something, trying to best her in every way possible. It would most certainly be a challenge to make her happy without making her suspect an alternative action behind it.

If he took this challenge, it would be hard and most definitely stressful. He smirked wider; he liked the sound of that. To be able to make his boss, his verbal dueling partner, feel happy about herself every time he did something for her and expect nothing in return.

To make her trust him, and only him, to hold her heart and trust him not to shatter it into tiny little pieces, would be a challenge he was willing to take and was determined to win.

He yawned but was careful to not make a sound. All this could wait until morning. Right now, he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

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"Wakie wakie, eggs and bakie."

Her shoulder was shaken lightly until she groaned with protest at being woken and opened her tired sea blue eyes.

"What?" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes, suddenly aware of the smell of eggs and bacon.

"I make you breakfast and all you can say is 'what'?" He held out the tray for her to take. "I ought to be hurt by your lack of gratefulness." Cuddy rolled her eyes without looking at the plate.

"House, I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat bacon." She took note he smelt like soap and shampoo, indicating he had showered not too long ago. He had changed from last nights clothes into new ones and had shaven too. Her gaze froze on his chin and neck where his stubble was supposed to be. Where had he gotten the razor to shave? How long was he planning on staying?

He rolled his eyes, noticing she had noticed he had shaved and felt satisfaction with the knowledge she was thrown off guard just by that small hygienic accomplishment. "I know that, idiot. If you'd, oh I don't know, actually look at the plate and see what's on it, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She gave him a glare and stared at the plate. A cheese omelet with toast rested on it. "See? No bacon."

She took the tray and looked up at him. "Thank you." She said it almost in wonderment. Half of the reason was because House of all people, made her breakfast in bed and the other half, because no one she was close to _ever _made her breakfast in bed.

He frowned, catching on to the fact she wasn't just staring at the plate because he made her breakfast without complaint.

Thomas came padding into the room, still in his pajamas, nibbling on a piece of bacon.

"That's why I smell bacon," she stated to herself and without saying another word she dug in. Thomas sat on the end of the bed and watched her cut into the omelet. House was also staring at her which made the moment even more awkward. She tput down her fork and knife. "What?" She looked from House to Thomas.

"Can we go to the zoo?" Her eyebrows rose and she looked to House.

"Don't look at me. He's not my kid." She narrowed her eyes at him but turned to Thomas with a sweet expression on her face.

"We'll see okay?"

"See what?"

"If I can take any time off work next week," she said taking note it was already Friday. She had brought Thomas to her home four days ago but it felt longer than that. It made her smile a little at the thought.

"But Greg said we can go today." He pouted. Cuddy's small smile then disappeared.

"Did he?" She looked up at him and glared…hard. "Well then, perhaps he'll pay for our tickets to get in. If you can convince him to do that then I'll take you today." She crossed her arms and leaned back against her headboard to watch how well Thomas could work at making House give in to him.

Thomas turned to Greg and pouted. "Please Greg…" House rolled his eyes and looked at Cuddy. He gave her a look that said she was going to pay for this.

"Fine, but Dr. Cuddy has to pay for food." Cuddy smirked and Thomas smiled brightly.

"Yay! Come on, Lisa! Hurry up! Hurry up! We'll be late!" Thomas bounded for his clothes in a spare dresser Cuddy had pulled out when she bought him his new wardrobe. He randomly picked out his clothes and made a bee line for the bathroom. "Lisa! I can't reach the sink!" he called through the bathroom door.

"There's a stool, remember?" she called back taking another bite into her omelet. It was unusually good.

"Oh yeah." She heard the sound of the water in the sink a few moments later.

Cuddy glared at House. "You did this," she accused.

"I did not. We were watching Dora the Explorer and in the episode Diego was telling about the animals he saves. Thomas said he wanted to see the animals too and so I told him that zoos had them and he asked what that was and I told him. He seemed to be fascinated with the idea of being able to see the animals in a place called a zoo and so I told him if he asked really nicely you'd take him," he explained calmly.

"Really, and this breakfast in bed has nothing to do with winning me over on this plan in hopes I'd actually say yes?"

House pondered that for a moment. "Nope, not at all." She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion but pushed the feeling aside and started eating the delicious omelet again.

"I never really took you as the type to know how to cook."

House smirked. "I can cook, I just choose not too."

"Why? This is really good." She put a good portion of the omelet in between two slices of toast and ate it like a sandwich.

"Too many dishes to clean." He watched her mouth as it spread wide to take in a good portion of the sandwich she had created. He wondered how those same lips would feel on his…he shook his head from those thoughts when he heard Thomas emerge from the bathroom. He had a bit of toothpaste on his mouth and licked it away with his tongue.

"Liiisa! What are you still doing in bed? Get up or we'll be late!"

"Hon, the Zoo doesn't open until ten and it's only…" She looked at the bed side clock and her eyes widened. "Seven-thirty." She then gave House a death glare. "You woke me up at seven-thirty?" Thomas turned and went back into the bathroom to comb out his hair before Lisa told him to before they had to leave, making them delay longer.

"Well, technically it was seven-twenty but sure if that's how you want to look at it." He got off the edge of her bed, suddenly aware of how close her feet were to his behind.

"You _never _wake up any earlier than nine or ten. Why the sudden change?" she asked, noting she could have kicked his ass off her bed if he hadn't moved off.

"Well there was the fact the little runt here had the TV blasting at six this morning and the growling of my stomach wouldn't let me sleep."

"So?"

"What do you mean so?"

She rolled her eyes. "So why did you make me and Thomas breakfast? You could have just gotten yourself something and left him to fend for himself or had him wake me up to get him something," she said searching his gaze for something, anything that would help her solve the confusion she was feeling.

His look softened a bit, lessening the wrinkles on his forehead, giving him an almost sad expression. It caught her off guard but she found she couldn't say anything when gazing the way she was into his bright blue eyes.

"I think he's done enough fending for himself, don't you think?" She smiled at him and was about to say something but was stopped when a very eager Thomas strode out of the bathroom.

"Is it time to go now?"

"No, Lisa dear hasn't gotten her ass out of bed yet."

"Well if you'd let me finish eating…"

He rolled his eyes. "You women are all so slow at eating in the morning."

"Yeah, because we aren't barbarous men who try to devour the damn plate along with the food that's on it."

Thomas laid on her bed with his head resting on his chin watching the exchange between the two with keen interest.

"Barbarous? It's you women who fall in love with said barbarians all the time, so really who's the smarter sex?" He snipped back.

Cuddy narrowed her eyes at him, trying to think of something smart to say. "You're right, we fall for you barbarians too often but it's you that has to listen to our nagging and put up with it…so really, who's the smarter sex?"

He had to smirk at that, he couldn't think of anything to say back to that and glanced down at the floor and back to Cuddy's smirk. "Are you done?"

"Yeah." She held out the plate for him to take. After a moment of staring at it and looking up into her face he took it. She raised an eyebrow at his hesitation.

"Don't worry. There's a whole pile of dishes for you to wash." With that he left to put the plate in the sink.

She glared at her door after he closed it. She should have known he'd leave some type of mess for her to clean.

She turned to Thomas who smirked at her almost the exact same way House smirked at her.

"Are you in love with Greg?" That question threw her off even more.

"What? Why do you think that?"

He shrugged. "I was just wondering."

Her mouth twitched into a grin. "Really? Are you sure Greg didn't put you up to asking?"

He laughed. "No."

"You're not sure?"

He shook his head. "No."

"So that means he told you to ask me what I thought of him?"

He nodded. "Yes." He went into a bigger giggle fit and rolled over on his back. He arched so his head, rear end and feet were holding him up. He looked at her and crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue out at her. In response she covered his face with one her hand and brought him into a tight hug with the other. She started rubbing his ribs with the tips of her fingers, making him burst out into uncontrollable laughter. He writhed and wiggled to try and escape but he was no match for Cuddy.

A knock came to the door and opened wide. House stood there, staring at the scene before him. Cuddy on the other end of the bed with her arms and legs wrapped around Thomas. The small boy trying with all his might to get away from Cuddy's tickling hands. They froze to the spot when House entered the room and for a few moments, the only sound you could hear was Thomas and Cuddy's heavy breathing from playing.

House cleared his throat and spoke. "Ben 10 is on. If you want to watch it you'd better hurry, it just started." Cuddy let Thomas go when he scrambled to his feet and dashed past House to the TV room.

House tilted his head and rake his eyes over her long toned legs. Her nightgown was hiked up and she only noticed this as she watched where House's gaze was directed. She quickly pulled it down and sat up.

"I'll go take a shower." She got out of bed and headed for the shower but stopped. "House…" He stopped moving out into the hall and opened the door a bit so he could see her. "Thanks…for everything." He nodded to her, accepting her thanks and closed the door.

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**. Will they have fun at the zoo or will it be a total disaster? You'll just have to wait and see kiddies! **


	7. At the Zoo

**Disclaimer: I don't own House…sadly.**

**A/N: Thank you, again, for enjoying this story. You guys are what keep this story alive. This chapter was edited by HouseAddiction. So give her a big 'round of applause! **

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"Got any tens?" asked House, examining the eight cards in front of him.

"Nope. Any fives?" asked the small boy and smiled broadly when House rolled his eyes in annoyance and tossed the five of hearts to him. Thomas put his five of spades with it on the table.

It was now 8:10 and Cuddy still wasn't out of the bathroom. House sighed. It wasn't like they were going to a beauty pageant. Movement by the entrance of the kitchen caught his eye and once he looked up, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the brown-haired beauty before him.

Lisa Cuddy was standing there wearing a tight red spaghetti strap shirt that came down to about her hips. Her pink bra straps were visible but the sexy lace contraption helped to show off her assets in the best way possible. From there, snug blue jeans rested low on her hips with a black belt holding them in place. His eyes traveled lower to her feet, curious as to see what she put on them. Red nail polish perhaps? He shuddered with suppressed pleasure. That sounded very appealing. Maybe black silky-soft socks? He wanted to lick his lips with anticipation. What he didn't expect though, was to see Daffy Duck's face on each of her feet. He shook his head and frowned from obvious shock. The Dean of Medicine liked _Daffy Duck_? He couldn't help but point and laugh.

She frowned in confusion, her perfectly plucked brows knitting together.

"What's so funny?" she asked and looked down at herself. Thomas followed House's finger and when he saw Daffy he also burst out laughing.

"Lisa, you're so funny!" the boy cried out in between laughs.

"What?" That only made them laugh harder.

"Out of all the things you could have worn on your feet…" House took a breath. "You chose Daf…Daff…Daffy-" He couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling through his lips and struggled to breathe.

"Oh gee, thanks guys. You're doing wonders for my self esteem," Cuddy countered, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at them as they, literally, tumbled on to the floor with laughter. Once House got a handle on his breathing and decided his cheeks hurt too much, he calmed down and looked up at Lisa who raised an eyebrow at him. "You done yet?" She glanced at Thomas who stopped rolling on the floor from the lack of air. She reached out a hand to the boy and helped him up when he put his hand in hers.

Feeling left out, House reached a hand out to her, making her roll her eyes but helped him to his feet regardless of the fact he just spent two minutes laughing at her.

She shook her head and turned to the sink full of dishes and started putting the plates and utensils in the dishwasher.

"Is it time to go yet?" asked Thomas impatiently.

"No hun, it's only 8:30."

"8:35 to be precise," countered House, smirking.

"Well I wasn't going for precise, now was I?"

"No but being precise always implies that you're smarter than you look."

She narrowed her eyes at him, obviously not appreciating the insult. "It also implies you're a smug jacka-"

House quickly put a finger to her lips. "Nu-uh, kid's still in here," he warned, jerking his head to the side towards the four year old who was watching the exchange between them. "No cursing or use of _naughty _language with him around."

She opened her mouth to pretty much tell him to fuck off but he gave her a look that told her that it wouldn't be wise to speak her mind right at that moment. Cuddy closed her mouth and, giving him a glare, turned around and continued putting the dishes in the dishwasher. House, not wanting to be the victim of Cuddy's next possible murder, took Thomas and went into the TV room to see what shows were on.

Grumbling to herself, she turned on the water and let it run in the sink. It was obvious by the knitting of her brows and the rigidness of her posture that she wasn't in the best of moods anymore. She bent down to open the cupboards under the sink to retrieve the dish soap for the pans but she found none. She sighed and closed them. Standing up, she turned but stopped abruptly when she saw House standing there.

"What?" she asked, turning back around to the sink to turn off the water.

"I was just wondering…why is it that when you get so mad, you feel the strange need to clean?"

"I don't feel the need to clean when I get mad," she snapped and whipped open the cupboard above her head. Once she found the dish soap, she poured some in the warm water and swished it around with her hand until it made bubbles.

"Really…"

She sighed. "House, I need to wash these because unfortunately, the dishwasher doesn't like my pans."

"Mhmm." He stared at her disbelievingly. "Well, I'm getting the vibe that you're mad. And because you're mad, you want to take it out on something…something such as dishes. They can't fight back, complain or make any type of protesting noise." He watched her raise a finely shaped eyebrow and then sigh in annoyance and snatch the washcloth that was resting behind the tap.

"House-"

"Why do you do that?"

"What?"

"Call me House even though we're not at work and we're _so _not on professional terms anymore."

She shrugged. "I don't know. Because that's all I ever call you anymore? Well, besides 'idiot', 'son of a bitch', 'jackass', 'pig', 'jerk', 'assho-"

"All right I get it!"

She almost let a grin escape her lips but turned her back on him and took the first pan in the water and started to wash it.

"How come?" His voice was soft and almost soothing.

"How come what?" She nearly turned to see what expression was on his face but stopped herself.

"How come you only call me House?"

She rolled her eyes and exhaled audibly. God, he wasn't going to let this go was he? "Because you only let me get close enough to call you by your last name."

He looked up at the ceiling in thought and then back down at her and grinned. "No, you call me Greg all the time."

She turned and gave him skeptical look. When he mimicked her expression, she dropped the cloth in the water and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that so?"

He nodded, the grin never faltering.

"When was the last time I called you Greg? Recently. As in the past three years you've worked for me?"

He thought for a moment and opened his mouth to answer but closed it and frowned when he realized Cuddy's point.

"Okay so you haven't called me Greg in a while…so what?"

"So what? Well first of all, _you_ asked why I don't call you Greg anymore and second, of all the years we've known each other, I only feel comfortable calling you 'House'. _N ever _when I talk to you do I everrefer to you as Greg. Not once in the last _nine years_ have I referred to you as Greg."

"_Nine years_?" His eyes bulged. "Wow, where was I when all this happened?"

"A majority of the time you were with Stacy. The rest of the time, you were moping either in your office or at home."

House paused. "I was not moping. I was _brooding_. There's a difference."

"Oh, so I suppose the scowl on your face every time you're alone doesn't have anything to do with it?"

"That's my thinking face."

Cuddy shook her head and turned around, making it clear she didn't want to discuss this anymore and resumed washing her pans. House stayed for a moment, examining her posture and the way she now handled her dishes. She seemed a lot calmer…except for when she rinsed off the suds and roughly dropped it in the other sink meant for the drying dishes. She picked up the other one and handled it gently like the other. She stopped when she realized House wasn't going to move into the other room and slightly turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"Are you just going to stand there?"

Without replying to her, he turned and headed into the TV room but upon entering he saw Thomas kneeling over the couch with his head in his hands, watching the pair of them talk.

"What?" asked House and plopped down next to him.

"Nothing." With that, he turned and scooted just a fraction of an inch closer to House and watched TV.

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House walked up to the ticket booth to the entrance of the zoo and smiled at the woman handling the tickets.

"Three for the day please," he said in a cheerful manner.

Cuddy grinned at Thomas who grinned back at her. Getting House to pay for the entrance tickets was almost too easy. She shuddered at her end of the deal. She had to pay for the food, and knowing House, he'd purposely make her buy a bunch of junk as pay back.

The woman smiled at House when she looked over Cuddy and Thomas. "Here you go, sir," she said as she handed him the tickets. "You folks have a nice time now," she called, completely touched by the scene of a cripple and a beauty taking 'their' rug-headed boy to the zoo.

Once House's back was turned to the woman, he rolled his eyes. "You women and your…_compassion_."

Cuddy rolled her eyes at him. "Stop being so immature about this."

"About what?"

"People thinking he's our boy," she said, laughing at Thomas' amazed expression upon seeing an ostrich in the first cage on his left.

"_Our _boy?" He emphasized 'our' by raising his eyebrows and using air quotes. Clearly that was the last thing on earth – well, one of the last things on earth – he thought he'd ever hear her say in reference to him.

Upon realizing the way she worded her sentence, she froze and looked back at his surprised gaze. "You know what I meant, you twit."

"Lisa, look! An elephant!" Thomas exclaimed excitedly and, while still holding onto Lisa's hand, dragged her over to the cage. Once he was close to it, he let go of her hand and held on to the bars, trying to poke his head through the gap.

"Hun, don't do that," warned Lisa, pulling him back.

"Why not?"

"You could get stuck."

"Oh."

"Hey, Tiny Tim!" Thomas looked behind him to see House hand him a handful of peanuts.

"What are these for?" he asked. 

"You put your hand in the cage and wait for them to come over and grab the peanut with their trunks," explained House and stuck his hand through as a demonstration. When a baby elephant walked cautiously up to House and wrapped it's trunk around the peanuts, Thomas laughed excitedly and reached out to pet the baby.

"Be careful, Thomas," warned Cuddy again and Thomas nodded, totally enthralled with being able to touch the grey infant animal.

Once the elephant was done with House's peanuts, shoving them in his mouth and trumpeting contentedly, Thomas reached out with his other hand that held the nuts, and watched in fear and fascination has the elephant touched him to get to the nuts in his hand. When the elephant withdrew, so did Thomas' hand.

"Ready to go see other animals?" asked Lisa, reaching down to hold his hand. His wonder stricken brown eyes lingered on the baby animal a few moments longer before looking up at Lisa and giving her a wide, toothy smile.

"Yeah! Can we go see snakes?" he asked, remembering that the snake was one of the animals that appeared in 'Dora the Explorer'.

Lisa shuddered and looked to Greg for a moment whose eyes were staring at her. "Uh, sure I guess." She really, _really_ didn't want to go see snakes but she came here for Thomas and if snakes were what he wanted to see, then that's what they were going to see. Even if the very thought of the slithering creatures made her shudder and gave her goosebumps.

Greg pulled out the map of the zoo that someone had handed him when they'd walked in. He looked left and then right. After frowning at the confusing map, he finally found the direction. "This way!" he shouted unnecessarily and marched off, as best he could with his bad leg, in the direction of the Snake Cave.

Without making a smart remark about men's sense of direction, she smirked and followed House, soon catching up with him.

A few people glanced at the adorable sight of House on Thomas' right and Lisa on his left. Though none of the passers-by new that Thomas wasn't really theirs and the two adults weren't really married, the three of them seemed so right together.

"Snakes!" shouted Thomas when they were finally inside the cave with the closed tanks of snakes.

Lisa couldn't help but cringe at one of the yellow skinned creatures that eyed her and raised its head to follow her as she walked by.

'Oh God, that's creepy'she thought to herself and, with a shudder, pulled her gaze back to the boy who had let go of her hand to press his face up to the glass tank of a large, fully grown boa constrictor.

"Oh my God, Thomas, don't get that close to the glass!" she almost yelled and yanked him back from the tanks. Upon seeing Thomas' face against the glass, the boa had lifted its heavy head to give the boy a once over before laying its head back down on the rocks.

"Oh don't be such a wimp, Cuddy," said House, rolling his eyes. Her head shot around to House and she gave him a glare but he was already looking at the large anaconda in the tank across from the boa constrictor. "Hey, what would you do if you woke up beside this mother fucker?"

"House!"

"What?" he asked, whirling around. 

"Little ears here!" she hissed angrily.

"Like you're one to talk." he scoffed. "He's not even – Thomas? Where'd he go?" he asked looking around.

"He's right–" she began, turning to the boa's tank but when she Thomas wasn't there, pure panic shot through her body. "Thomas?!" she called into the cave. A few other people's head's turned her way but upon realizing she'd lost her child and it was totally her problem, they ignored her.

House was also, what some would call, worried as he looked out the cave to see if he could spot his missing boy.

Hold up. _His _missing boy?

Since when had he thought of Thomas as his boy? No, no, no. The boy was Cuddy's. He had nothing to do with her wanting to adopt the missing boy. Still, he couldn't help the small bit of panic and worry that slowly reached his conscience.

"Oh my God, House. What if…what if he ran off and someone kidnapped him?" She put her hands in her hair and tried with all her might not to break down into hysterics. "What if Rex has him? Oh God…" she said just above a whisper and trembled slightly.

"Shut up," he demanded harshly, not wanting either of them to think that way. "Rex isn't here. There's no way he'd think to come to the damn zoo, and not only that, he's currently in jail until trial." He took a deep breath. "As for your other theory, I doubt that someone has found him."

The look of relief that was on her face was quickly replaced with worry. She growled. "You just know how to ruin someone's hopes don't you?" she hissed.

"I'm merely stating the truth."

"Well stop! The truth isn't what I want to hear right now!" she nearly shouted. She took a deep breath.

His gaze lingered on her distraught features. "Look ," he said softly, earning Cuddy's attention, "we obviously aren't going to find him by standing here and arguing. He couldn't have gotten too far with all the animals he wanted to see. You go that way," he said, gesturing further down the cave with his cane, "and I'll look out here. If you find him, call my cell and vice versa and we'll meet back here."

Lisa nodded. Honestly that was the most intelligent thing he had said to her all week and she was more than grateful for his quick thinking.

She turned and strode down the pathway that led to other cages and rooms containing animals of all shapes and sizes…animals that he'd wanted to see. She sighed and continued to look for Thomas.

House wasn't having much luck either and with the rays of the sun beating down on him and the throbbing in his right leg, he wasn't in the best of moods.

"Oh my God! A boy's in there!" screamed a woman. House turned to the cage the woman was pointing to. At first all he could see were baboons. Tall, angry looking baboons…until he spotted the flesh of a boy being carried by, what looked like, a mother baboon.

"What the hell?" he asked himself as he recognized the boy as Thomas. As quickly as his leg could carry him, he went over to the cage. "Thomas!" he shouted, putting his hand in the cage but a few protective baboons threw branches at him until he retracted his hand. Thomas looked up at House and smiled.

"Look, Greg, they're eating from my head," he exclaimed with delight and giggled as the mother baboon groomed his head.

"You're in big trouble, mister. You worried me and Lisa." said House, his relief being replaced by annoyance. Other people slowly started surrounding to cage to watch the baboons groom Thomas' head.

"Why? I just wanted to see the monkeys."

"Your moth- I mean Lisa, is _this _close to crying her eyes out because you left without saying a word."

Why the hell was he arguing with a four year old when he should be working on getting him out of the cage? As if the zoo keepers read his mind, they appeared and opened the cage, stepping inside with a large handful of bananas.

"Here you go, now hand over the boy," coaxed one of the two zoo keepers. When the baboon let go of Thomas to pick up the bananas, the first zoo keeper quickly grabbed Thomas and handed him down to the other before hurriedly making his way out of the cage before the baboons noticed Thomas was gone.

The zoo keepers turned to House and gave him a cold glare. "What they hell do you think you're doing letting your son into that cage? Don't you know baboons can be dangerous?" hissed the one who rescued Thomas.

"Did you notice the 'KEEP HANDS AND FOOD OUT OF CAGE' sign?!" bellowed the second.

"You ought to be ashamed, letting your boy get into danger like that–"

"Enough!" yelled House, startling Thomas as well as the zoo keepers. "I didn't _willingly_ let him in the cage. He got there by himself when my back was turned for a mere thirty seconds! God damn it! Would you lay off?! I've got a woman in hysterics looking for this boy at this very moment and that's going to be a pain in the ass to deal with already so don't you even _talk_ to me about letting my boy into the cage!" He couldn't stop the words from flowing out of his mouth. He took Thomas' hand and stormed as best he could back to the snake cave. He whipped out his phone and dialed Lisa's cell.

"Find him?" Her voice was laced with worry.

"Yeah. You'll never guess where he was…not in a million years," replied House, glancing down at the ashamed looking boy.

Lisa sighed with relief and had to hold onto the stone wall for support as she felt a huge weight lift from her chest. "Where was he?" she asked softly.

"In a cage with baboons. Apparently they like the taste of his head." There was a momentary silence on Lisa's end.

"In cage…with baboons…" She trailed off. "Is he all right? Is he hurt or–"

"Calm down. The most they did was wheedle their fingers into his hair to pick at the invisible bugs on his head," he said, effectively reassuring her.

She took a deep breath. "Can I speak to him?"

House hesitated a moment but passed the phone to Thomas. "It's Lisa."

"Hi, Lisa." Upon hearing Lisa's voice choked with tears, Thomas stopped smiling. "Don't cry…yes you are. I hear you crying." Another pause and then Thomas spoke again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to see the monkeys with purple butts." House heard Lisa laugh faintly on the other line and relaxed with the knowledge she was feeling better.

After a few more words, Thomas handed over the cell to House. He took it and flipped it up to his ear. "Yeah?"

She took a breath and exhaled softly. "I…I wanted to–"

"Save it, Lisa." When she gave no response he continued. "I know you're grateful and everything so stop putting yourself through torture and just sit tight. We'll be at the cave's entrance in like…thirty seconds." With that he hung up and they rounded the corner and spotted Lisa, who in turn, also spotted them and jogged over to the pair of them. She bent down and gave Thomas the hug of his life.

"Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?" she demanded, trying hard to control her tears. The boy nodded and pulled back from the embrace to grin down at her.

"Guess what?" he asked.

"What?"

"A monkey ate invisible bugs in my hair." She tried to glare at him to let him know she wasn't impressed with what he had done but a grin itched at her lips and she couldn't help but grin back at him.

She put him down and held on to his hand. She then turned her full attention to House, who was currently infatuated with the anaconda he was examining before.

"House…"

He sighed. Why did she insist on calling him 'House'? It irritated him to no end. Well fine then, if she was going to play the surname game then so was he.

"Yes, _Cuddy_?" She blinked in confusion at the emphasis he put on her name but then she remembered their earlier conversation.

"I–"

"I already said you don't have to thank me." He turned with an annoyed expression on his face.

She turned her face away and coldly replied, "Fine." She walked further into the cave so Thomas could look at the other animals. Personally, she wanted to leave so nothing else could happen to this poor boy. Even if he did seem to enjoy visiting with the baboons up close. She was only vaguely aware of the clink House's cane made as it came in contact with the stone floor behind them.

When they came to the gorillas, Thomas scrunched his nose in dislike. "They're big and scary" was his only comment before dragging Lisa to the lizards.

Two hours went by and they had seen lions, tigers, seals and a whole bunch of other creatures at the zoo. Surprisingly, House had stayed quiet the whole two hours except to make a comment on an animal. All three of their stomachs growled when they came upon the small café near the exit of the zoo. They ordered their food and took it back to one of the tables set up nearby.

Thomas munched on his fries with the occasional dip of ketchup.

"So, what did you think of the zoo?" asked Lisa, picking up a few fries of her own and eating them, purposely avoiding eye contact with Greg.

He shrugged. "The animals were fun to look at but I didn't get to pet the ones I wanted."

"There's a reason the animals are in cages," retorted House. He stole a couple fries from Thomas and added them to his own.

"Hey! Those are mine!" He reached for them.

"Not anymore." House took a handful and shoved them in his mouth. Thomas glared at him while Lisa smacked his bicep.

"Stop it, _Greg_," she hissed and gave him a glare of her own.

"What?" he asked with his mouth full of fries.

She rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

"What was that?" he asked, glaring at her. When she didn't answer he made her look at him by gently but firmly grabbing her chin and forcing her head in his direction.

"I said, 'You're so damn immature it's no wonder you're still single'." He let go of her chin and narrowed his eyes.

"Is that so?"

She gave him a cold stare for a moment and then looked away at the boy whose was too occupied in his food and the stuffed lion Lisa had bought him to notice the tension between the two adults sitting across from him.

"Well, _Lisa, _don't forget I'm not the only one at this table who's still single. And the reason _you're_ still single is because you're such a damn workaholic," he hissed in her ear.

"Well the reason _you're_ still single is because you're still hung over a woman who left you and married someone who's happy. Someone who won't make her as equally miserable as you." she hissed back earning them a few curious glances but she ignored them.

She turned back to her fries and began to finish them angrily.

Not wanting to retort the way he wanted in public, he'd let the topic at hand slide…for now.

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**Me oh my, I wonder what exactly House has in mind for his pay back. Other wise, I hope you enjoyed their time at the zoo. If you think there could have been more to it, let me know and I'll try my best to revise it and make it more detailed and what not. But on one condition…I must have at least five of you who agree on wanting more of the zoo scene. Other wise I'm not going to waste my time revising when I could be writing something else that needs attention. **

**So, once again, give a 'round of applause to HouseAddiction. **

**Much luff, **

**Inu-m. **


	8. Decisions, Decisions

**Disclaimer: I don't own House.**

**A/N: Ello, ello people! Glad you find my story amusing. There's plenty more to come so sit tight. Anyway, enough talking and on with the story. This chapter was edited by our lovely HouseAddiction. **

**(p.s In chap 6, I had made it so the zoo opened at 10 am. So, in the previous chap I made it so they left right at ten and took an hour to drive there, so they arrived at eleven. The whole finding Thomas thing took an hour, and then another two hours before the three of them got hungry and the whole café scene happened. Plus an hour to get home. So, if anyone was wondering how hell I came up with the time for when they get home, there it is)**

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The rest of the day had seemed to drag on for Lisa Cuddy. By the time the three of them stepped inside her house, it was around four in the afternoon and she was exhausted.

Thomas, being the bundle of energy he was, bounced up and down with his toy lion in hand. "Cartoons!" he yelled and ran straight for the couch. "Batman!" Apparently he found out he absolutely adored Batman. Lisa and Greg made their way to him and plopped down beside him. "Can Greg sleep over again?" asked Thomas who managed to form a sentence while being entranced with Batman kicking Penguin's ass.

Lisa opened her mouth to respond but Greg beat her to it. "You know, I think Lisa has had enough of me for a while. After all, we see each other every day at work."

"Please Lisa…" he turned to her and gave her his innocent puppy dog look.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "All right fine, he can stay." Thomas smiled at her and grinned at Greg.

"What's for dinner?" asked Thomas, already thinking of his stomach. Lisa rolled her eyes. Typical male thing.

Greg took this as an opportunity for his payback. There was nothing like making Lisa Cuddy feel guilty about what she said or did. Eventually it would make him feel guilty for making her feel it but he'd deal with that later.

"We're going out for dinner. My treat."

Lisa's head whipped to Greg's gaze. What was he scheming?

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have suggested it."

"True…"

"So, who's hungry?"

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Two hours later, Lisa, Greg and Thomas entered La Pointe. The walls were a deep blue and the lights were dimmed with candles perched on every table to make the scenery all the more romantic. Portraits of the founders and all time chiefs of the restaurant hung on almost every wall. Lisa glanced at House who glanced right back.

"I didn't think they'd pick the romantic theme tonight." Lisa only gave him a skeptical look and smiled at the hostess. Once they were seated, they started ordering drinks.

"I'll have the House special." which consisted of a Cherry Martini shaken, not stirred.

"You only got that 'cause it has your name in it." stated Thomas and the waitress laughed at the boy's cuteness.

Lisa smiled and Greg grinned. "Actually yes. Smart kid you'll turn out to be." Lisa shook her head, catching Greg's attention. "What? I wasn't being sarcastic!" he defended himself.

"Uh-huh."

"I can't say anything without it meaning something else now?"

"I didn't say that."

"It was implied with the 'uh-huh'."

"You're delusional."

"If so then it's also my delusion that thinks you're the most beautiful woman I've seen since Angelina Jolie."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Yes."

Cuddy couldn't help the small flutter of butterflies in her stomach or the tint of pink from her cheeks. She quickly averted her gaze from his serious one. "I'll have a red wine."

"Dry?"

"Yes please."

"And you little man?" asked the waitress smiling sweetly to Thomas, ignoring the fact the two adults had just had a minor quarrel.

"Chocolate milk!"

"Okay. I'll be back shortly." She set down a paper place mat for Thomas and a selection of three colors he could color with. She then gave Lisa and Greg their menus and left to get them their drinks.

"I'm thinking…the steak with sweet potatoes." murmured Greg aloud and nodded to himself as if confirming that it was an excellent choice. He looked up at Lisa, who had her menu in front of her face, hiding not only her features, but House's two favorite twins. "Have you decided or are you just doing that to keep me from viewing Lisa and Cuddy all night?"

Lisa slowly pulled down the menu from her face and glared at the grinning man in front of her. "As a matter of fact maybe I am."

"Ouch." Greg's wolfish grin widened.

Ignoring him, Lisa turned to Thomas and suggested the chicken nugget meal, which he happily agreed to and then resumed coloring.

The waitress came back a few minutes later with their drinks and took out a note pad when she was done handing them out. "So, have you three decided what you want?"

"I'll have the steak with sweet potatoes."

"Would you like it well done?"

"Yes."

"All right." She turned her attention to Lisa who promptly ordered a veggie burger with fries.

"And you little man?"

Thomas smiled with glee at being called 'little man' and stated his order.

"All right," said the waitress with a smile. "I'll be back with your orders."

House, not being able to contain himself, took off his left shoe and slid his sock-covered foot over Lisa's smooth bare leg. She tensed in surprise and cleared her throat.

Greg gave her a wolfish grin and stared intently into her eyes as he stroked up and down her leg. She mouthed for him to stop but upon having her leg tugged closer to his, she looked down at the table and closed her eyes.

"What's wrong, Lisa?" asked Thomas when he looked up from his drawing to ask her something.

Cuddy's eyes shot open and she glanced at Greg before looking at Thomas. "Nothing hun. I just…"

"She has a headache." House finished for her.

"Right. I have a headache."

Thomas frowned and stood on his knees and brought his hands to her face. "Are you burning up?" he asked feeling around her face.

Lisa laughed and felt a bit guilty for lying to him. "No sweetie, I'm fine." With one last glare to Greg, she pulled her leg away from his and kissed Thomas' cheek.

Satisfied that Lisa was okay, Thomas sat back down and continued coloring.

When their food came, they ate in silence.

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Once the three of them stepped back into Lisa's home, Thomas drifted toward the bedroom.

"Are you tired?" asked Lisa.

"Yeah. I want to go to bed."

"All right." She went with him to help him get changed and soon came out of the room. Greg was already on her couch with cartoons on.

"Nice, Greg."

"What?"

"Cartoons?"

"They can be educational!" he defended himself.

Lisa rolled her eyes but watched the cartoon anyway. She turned to him soon after, however, and broke the silence. "Thank you. For dinner." It was totally clear she felt guilty.

House nodded. "No problem."

"You're still not getting laid."

Frowning, he looked over at her. "Aw come on! I even risked getting caught in the restaurant just to turn you on!"

"I know! That's _exactly_ why you're not getting in my pants tonight." He raised his eyebrows.

Hello new blackmail opportunity.

"So I can try any other night, just not tonight."

Realizing it was too late to retract her sentence, she just went along with it.

"Exactly."

"Oh, so the Queen of Rejection really does want me in her hot, tight, wet-"

"Stuff it, House." she tried not to give him any indication that he was riling her up in every way possible and wasn't doing too bad of a job until he looked at her in that way of his. It was the look that said, 'you-can't-fool-me' with his trade mark, 'you-so-want-me' smirk. When he gave her that particular look, however, she caved and looked away first.

"Lisa, now you know you just set yourself up, yet again, right?" Cuddy rolled her eyes and moved to get up but he caught her arm and kept her seated.

"I need to get up."

"No, you need to get laid."

"And you need a whore."

"You mean I'm not looking at one right now?"

Ouch, that one hurt. However, the Dean of Medicine didn't show her hurt and threw an insult right back at him.

"You're a first class bastard."

"First class bastard _with style_."

"You wish you had style."

Lisa wasn't sure when it had happened but their faces somehow came closer together, leaving a few short inches between them. Her heart raced faster and heat rose to her cheeks as the realization of how compromising their positions would be if Thomas were to walk in on them.

All right so they weren't in a position all _that _intimate but it was enough to make Thomas question what they were doing. She tried pulling back but House had somehow managed to grip her hip without her knowledge and held her in place while his other hand brought her chin back up so she was staring into his bright blue gaze.

"Greg…no…" she tried to form a sentence but holding his smoldering gaze and trying to form a coherent sentence was so much harder than those romance movies let on.

His eyes narrowed and his jaw locked for a moment. "I may be a jerk, an ass and many other select words you like to choose and I know you think I lack morals but I do have some. I wouldn't force you to have sex with me." Every word was clipped and edged with hints of anger and frustration.

"I know…" She wanted to look away but his hand kept her eye level with him.

"Good." He let go of her and stood.

"Where are you going?" asked Lisa, suddenly afraid he'd leave and not want to return.

Catching onto her slight panic, he narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm going to bed…" He tilted his head at her and watched as she composed herself. "You're welcome to come if you like. The nights alone in the dark, damp spare room are becoming too unbearable for me." When Cuddy gave him the 'rejection' look he shrugged and limped to the room, not bothering to bring his cane but snatched his Vicodin bottle from the coffee table. "Night!" he called before he went into his room.

Lisa sighed and let out a grin. His dramatic offer certainly lightened up the situation and had her not feeling too guilty about her rejection.

The truth was…she wanted him. She wanted him so badly she was afraid of wanting him. She had spent many nights thinking about it ever since he had started helping her with Thomas and his situation. She had always wanted him, lust-wise. No strings attached. But her pride never let her confront him about it. But now… now was even harder because he was doing all these things for not only Thomas, but her as well and it was capturing her heart.

If she were to get into anything physical with him, she was sure she would be so much more attached to him. The problem was that she was afraid of heart break. Typical thing for anyone to fear but Cuddy was convinced she didn't exactly have all the time in the world anymore to find someone new and exciting if House were to crush her heart between his fingers.

For now, she had to play her cards safe. So far, he was playing all the right cards and if he played anymore good ones, she was sure to fall for him a lot harder than she already had.

Lisa got up from her couch and went into her room. She plopped down on the bed and closed her eyes, not even bothering to change into anything more comfortable.

**A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	9. Deep Contemplations Angry Decisions

**Disclaimer: I don't own House, just the story.**

**A/N: Ello ello! Sorry for the slow updates on this fic. My muse was going for this fic for a while but don't worry, it's come back and I'm ready to update again! …not that I left this story or anything in the first place…just read. Please. **

**THANK YOU TO HOUSEADDICTION FOR BETA-ING THIS! XD It's muchly appreciated and I would take out the huge ass letters...but I'm afraid I'm just too lazy for that right now. **

**Oh, and there's really no new Batman movie coming out…at least I don't think so. But my cousin LOVES Batman so I figured, sure why not add in a new Batman movie? **

**Week goes by so it's now March 7th. HAPPY 2008!**

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A whole week went by and House's apartment was finally fixed. He moved out with more reluctance than he thought he'd have. With his final wave to Thomas, who as looking as sad as could be, he hopped on his motorcycle and put on his helmet. He rolled out of the driveway and sped down the street.

Lisa sighed. The week had gone so well too. They had taken Thomas to the park so many times she lost count. House had taken him on his motorcycle for a quick ride and they took Thomas to work with them one day. Cuddy had him for the first half of the day and House had him the second half. People were constantly questioning him about Thomas, especially Foreman and Chase.

He ignored them though, since Thomas spoke for himself and told them his name. Throughout most the second half of the day, Thomas was on Greg's shoulders.

The most recent rumor going around now was that House and Cuddy secretly had sex four years ago and she got pregnant. And the reason no one knew of Thomas was because their relationship hadn't worked out…

…which made no sense at all once you thought about it but that didn't seem to waver the nurses and their gossip in the slightest.

So now Thomas was sadly watching House's motorcycle turn the corner and head off down the next street to his apartment.

She hadn't expected it, but she too, felt a certain loss within her, as if she was letting the man of her life slip away from her grasp.

She had to shake the stupid thoughts out of her mind though. She would see him everyday at work and he knew he was always welcome to visit if he wanted to see Thomas…but there was the matter of his pride.

"Come on, hun, I'll fix you some dinner." Thomas nodded and led the way inside. "How was daycare today?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Didn't you do anything fun there?"

"I painted…and pulled Luther's pants down."

Cuddy frowned. "Why did you do that?" She gave him a firm stare. "You know that's not nice."

"Yeah, but he said you were a poo-poo face."

Caught off guard by the answer, she hung her head and turned away so he wouldn't see her grin. The situation was hysterical once you thought about it. Once she was composed, she turned back to Thomas.

"Tomorrow's Saturday, I don't have to go to work. What do you want to do?"

He shrugged. As she got out the things she needed for his dinner, she turned the oven on and put the smiley fries on the tray and shoved it into the oven.

"How about we go see the new Batman movie?"

"Yeah! Can Greg come too?"

"Well…"

"Pretty please, my dahling?" he gave her a cheesy smile as he called her the endearment and made Cuddy give in.

"All right fine but you have to call him and ask him yourself."

"Yay!" He ran for the phone but Lisa stopped him.

"Not so fast, hotshot. You have to get a bath and then eat dinner first."

"Awww! But Lisa!"

"No buts, mister. Get going into my bathroom." She kicked his skinny butt and he jumped, grabbed his bum and giggled as he ran for her bathroom.

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House sat alone on his couch. He had just seen James Wilson off after he had brought his furniture. The blue eyed man had refused to answer any questions about Thomas and after a few moments of silence, Wilson left.

Now he was alone. So alone. He wanted nothing more than to be enthralled with Lisa's presence. He wanted to be with her and Thomas so badly right now. He missed them but his pride wouldn't let him budge from his spot on the couch so he took to glaring at the wall while thinking of Lisa and Thomas. But mainly Lisa.

He supposed the only times he would now see Lisa is at work and he wouldn't really see Thomas at all…not until Rex's trial anyway.

He was about to retire for the night when his phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID and his instant thought was to ignore it but he pushed it down when a wave of anxiousness and curiosity came over him.

"Hello?"

"Hi Greg!" He winced slightly and smiled on his end.

"Hello little man. What are you doing calling me at this hour? It's eight, shouldn't you be in bed?" He didn't sound harsh or annoyed. He made sure his smile reached his voice for the small boy.

Thomas giggled. "No. Lisa said that I could call you after I had dinner and a bath."

House made a face. "Well you tell Lisa that I say you can call me anytime. I don't care how dirty you are."

Thomas smiled and told Lisa, who in turn laughed and told Thomas to ask him the question he wanted to ask.

"Oh, Greg, can you come to see the Batman movie with me and Lisa tomorrow?"

For some reason unknown to him, his chest swelled and relief went through him. So he wasn't being cast out into the dark after all.

Chuckling, House responded. "Sure I can come. I'll wear my Batman shirt if you wear yours."

"Okay!"

"Hand the phone over to Lisa."

"Okay, 'night Greg."

"Night."

Thomas passed the phone to Lisa and wrapped his arms around her thigh and watched her talk to Greg.

"Hello?" she greeted.

"And here I thought you were going to keep him away from my bad influencing ways."

Lisa chuckled softly. "You can be all right sometimes. Besides, the poor child has missed you so very much today. I don't think he could bear not seeing you every so often."

This made House smile even wider.

"Me and the little tyke have a promise to each other. I'll wear my Batman shirt if he does. But you…you don't have a Batman shirt. Hm…all right, I've got it. You, dear Lisa Cuddy have to wear a blouse and leave two too many buttons undone."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "You're immature."

"Hey, I can't help it if my hormones are that of a thirteen year old."

"Of course not, who am I kidding?" asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

"What time is the movie we're seeing?"

"Well, I was thinking the noon show. That gives you time to get up, get ready and meet us there."

House nodded on his end. "Sounds good, hun." He hadn't realized he had said the endearment until his words echoed in his mind. _Shit. I didn't mean to say that! _"So I'll, uh, see you two tomorrow."

Standing there speechless, she didn't even get a chance to say anything because he quickly hung up.

_Well that was interesting. He's never said that before, _thought Lisa, putting the phone down.

Thomas tugged on her pants. "Is he still coming?"

Lisa smiled down at him and lifted him into a warm embrace. "You bet he is. Remind me to get out your Batman shirt tomorrow."

Thomas nodded against her and let Lisa carry him into their room.

She set him down and tucked him in but it took a long while before he fell asleep. He kept talking about how much fun tomorrow would be with Greg and seeing Batman. She had to remind him that if he didn't sleep then he wouldn't be able to go and see it. He finally settled down after the fifth warning and closed his eyes.

Lisa took the opportunity to take out a nightgown and head for the bathroom. She showered quickly, as she started to feel how tired she was.

Around nine, she was completely ready for bed and crawled in next to Thomas.

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The morning seemed to come too quickly for Lisa. Her alarm went off at exactly seven thirty but she hit the snooze button and changed the alarm time and went back to sleep. Well…she tried to but Thomas had unfortunately heard the annoying alarm and pounced on Lisa's unsuspecting form.

"Lisa! Wake up, wake up!"

"Mmmm, ten more minutes." she grumbled and turned her head away.

"No, up now!" He got off her and rushed for the bathroom to relieve his bladder and brush his teeth. After doing all that, he ran out and headed for his drawers and whipped out his Batman shirt with a new pair of underwear, socks and blue jeans.

He dressed without Lisa's help, which felt slightly awkward to the small boy, but he managed.

"Lisa, wake up!"

"Urgh! Okay I'm up!" she rubbed her eyes before opening them and looked at Thomas. She smiled when she saw he dressed himself and motioned for him to come to her. He did and she only fixed his pants because they were slightly off to the side. "Well don't you look like a hotshot today?"

Thomas grinned and pulled the covers away from Lisa's rapidly chilling body. She sat up and headed for the bathroom while Thomas sat on the bed. After she was done everything she needed, she went to her drawers, pulled off her nightgown and began dressing.

She put on a red bra with matching panties. Over top of it all she had a black blouse with two too many buttons left undone and snug blue jeans. She put on her Bugs Bunny socks and after brushing her hair, she put it up in a high ponytail.

"There, ready for break feast?"

Thomas nodded and led her out into the kitchen.

The morning had gone by fast as the two sat and watched Saturday cartoons. Not exactly something Lisa was accustomed to doing but it wasn't so bad.

When they met Greg, he was standing beside his motor cycle with his cane, leather jacket and helmet under his arm.

Thomas ran up to him and hugged him before grinning at the motorcycle.

"Want a ride on the way back home on this?"

"Yeah!"

Lisa was about to protest but then Thomas turned to her with his pleading eyes. "Please?"

"He's been on it before. It's not like I'll let him jump off. Right Thomas?"

"Right."

"Fine." she grumbled.

She took Thomas' left hand and House took his right and together, all three of them walked into the theatre to see Batman.

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Monday had come too quickly for the three of them but it was futile to complain about it because whether they liked it or not, life still moved forward.

Everyone had noticed House's increasing foul mood. All except for Lisa that is. Not that she was trying to avoid him, she just had a lot to do around the hospital and found she didn't have time to pay attention to anyone except for what she was doing and the donors she was trying to get to contribute to the hospital.

Wilson, however, had become concerned. He noticed House was in a cheery, yet touchy mood on Monday and yesterday his depression seemed to seep through again. Today it was like he had been deprived of his Vicodin. His remarks were snappier. He was careless with his patients. He made a teenager cry by stating that her thighs were probably open so much that the reason she was constantly having colds was because she had an STD.

Of course when James went in to confront him about it, House had said that he was merely pulling her leg and that, had she not run out crying, he would have told her he was kidding and told her that the reason her cold wouldn't go away was because she slept with her windows open.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Wilson, about to snap at his friend.

Taken aback, he stared at James and then turned back to his lunch.

"Nothing. I'm just in a bad mood. I think it's called 'man PMS'."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Look, you've got to calm down. Everyone, including your lackeys, is afraid of approaching you. They've been trying to avoid you all day."

"I noticed that when I found out Cameron trying to make my patient's father consent to a surgery that he didn't need."

James rolled his eyes. "Does this have something to do with Lisa and that child she brought here last week? You seemed really taken with him."

House stayed silent for a moment, which caused Wilson to frown. "House…what's going on?"

Greg looked up and sighed. He supposed he had no choice but to tell James. He would either confront Lisa, which he didn't want, or keep pestering him and making him feel guilty.

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Lisa was frantically trying to figure out why she was one donor short…until she found the comment at the bottom of a letter he submitted a while ago that she had overlooked. She sighed as she realized that it was House's doing…again.

She looked up when she door opened and was mildly surprised to see James standing in her doorway.

"Hey…" she greeted and put down everything she was doing to give him her undivided attention.

"Hi…" he returned awkwardly. "Um…are you busy? I need to discuss something with you."

She motioned for him to sit down. "Well I am busy but I always have time to hear what's on your mind…if it's important."

James gave a nervous smile and sat down across from her. He stayed silent for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. "Well…it's Thomas."

Cuddy froze and frowned. "How-?"

"House told me."

Lisa sighed and put her head in her hands.

"I won't tell anyone. Not until you do. But…congratulations on saving a boy's life."

Lisa smiled tightly, wishing he would go away soon so she could hound House down for telling about their secret. …well, _her _secret.

"Though, that's not why I came to see you." Cuddy looked at him with a questioning look. "I'm here to ask if you've noticed House's behavior. He hasn't told me why he's been acting the way he has lately, just that you and Thomas are part of it."

Lisa frowned. "What has he been acting like what?"

Wilson only stared at her for a moment. "Remember when you took him off the Vicodin and he became _really _irritable?" Lisa nodded. "Well picture that all over again."

Lisa sighed. "I'll have a talk with him."

"I'm only bringing this to your attention because he made one of his clinic patients cry and his team is afraid of approaching him." Wilson then got up. "I'll leave now. I have a patient coming in five minutes."

Once he left, Lisa put her head on her desk. Why was House acting like an idiot now? Why not after the trial? His behavior wasn't helping her stress levels in the slightest. She mustered the strength to get up and stalk down to House's office. Once there, she went in without knocking, as usual.

"What's going on?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest and giving him a stern look.

He was sitting in his chair, twirling his cane, staring at the board in front of him, trying to figure out what was wrong with his diagnosis. "I thought it was clear that I was trying to help cure my patient. You know, with me staring at my white board and looking deep in thought and all."

She didn't falter. Instead she took a step closer to his desk. "Really? Because I heard that your temper has kicked in just a little too much today and that you even took it so far as you make one of your clinic patients cry. I don't know about you but it sounds to me like there's something wrong and for the sake of the hospital and its innocent people, I want to know what."

"Nothing." he stated and turned his back to her. He couldn't tell her that he was miserable that he wasn't with her and Thomas anymore. That would be _so _embarrassing and his pride would definitely be hurt.

"Like hell it's nothing. I was told it had something to do with Thomas and I so it's definitely not 'nothing'."

House sighed. "Leave it alone, Lisa."

Lisa frowned. She really didn't like how he was acting. It was awkward and so unlike him. For a moment she considered leaving him alone but she really wanted to know what she had done.

"What did Thomas and I do? Did we ruin your balance in everyday rituals or something?"

Finally snapping, House whipped out of his seat and turned to her, leaning over his desk.

"Yes Goddamn it! I can't go into my own home without thinking of how lonely it is without you and Thomas being just in the next room! I can't think without it straying to you or Thomas! Yes, you ruined my balance in life and thinking!"

"Your balance in life? Greg, you had no damn life! You sat at home and sulked and wallowed in self pity! I told you to leave us alone and you didn't! You can't blame that on me or Thomas! That's your own damn fault!" Her arms had unfolded when she snapped and were now balled at her sides.

"See? This is exactly why I didn't tell you, or anyone. They would have reacted the exact same way!"

"You shouldn't even be taking your personal issues out on people at work! Especially your team!"

"Argh!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "You completely missed the point!"

"Well when I have a million other things on my mind and your problems on it as well, it's hard to detect hidden little meanings in whatever it is you say!"

"Then get back to what you're supposed to do and leave me alone and don't worry about my problems."

"You're insufferable! Instead of trying to let people help, you snap at them and make them go away. It's a bloody wonder what Thomas sees in you." she hissed and turned on her heel. She slammed the door shut behind her and left for her office.

House's rage built up until clenching his jaw wasn't enough to suppress his anger. He grabbed his bag and stormed out of his office and into his patient's room. It was time to present his diagnosis. Probably in the most snappy way he'd ever spoken to a dying guy but as long as he lived, he wouldn't feel guilty about it.

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**Ello lovelys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Only four more chapters to go! Whoo-hoo! Well…whoo-hoo for me…dunno about the rest of ye. XD So, I'm also not only Snucius (Snape/Lucius) obsessed, but I'm now Sweenett (Sweeney/Lovett) obsessed from Sweeney Todd. It was a brilliant musical and I respect your opinion if you don't like it…but to get a better opinion of it, you should go see it. My BFF, Pale, hates musicals but she went to see it anyway…and hated it 'cause it was a musical. So, I tell you of my Sweenett obsession because I've made a Sweenett fic...and that'll need attention as soon as I get a new computer OR I somehow download a spellcheck thingy 'cause at the moment, I have no clue if I'm spelling this last sentence right. So, anywayz, r & r my pets. **


	10. I Love You

**Disclaimer: I don't own House.**

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! This was edited by our very lovely HouseAddiction!**

**Thursday March 10****th****.**

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Three days passed since Greg and Lisa had their argument and so far, it looked like neither of them were going to let up and talk to the other about what had happened.

Greg was safe in his office, going of possible diagnoses while his team was busy running more tests. Lisa, on the other hand, was dealing with a very stubborn donor. He wanted a date with her and of course, she wanted to keep it strictly business but he wouldn't let up about it. Not wanting to lose his _very_ generous donation, she politely tried to argue with him on the point.

"Look, Mr. Burns, you're a very nice man. Really, I mean that in every possible sense, but I'm just not interested," she said as calmly and patiently as she could.

Mr. Burns, with his handsome smile, leaned forward. "How about I make you interested tonight?"

Lisa sighed and leaned back in her chair. "No. I'm sorry but I'm already taken." It was a flat out lie but she had to say _something _to get him off her back…almost literally.

Mr. Burns looked her to left hand and shook his head. "I don't see a ring. Which means you only have a boyfriend, which means we can still have a fun night together."

Lisa's mouth dropped open. "No. I'd prefer not to cheat on my boyfriend. I love him very much."

Before Mr. Burns could make a retort about making her love him instead, Greg barged in. He barely had time to take in the handsome features of the donor before Lisa spoke.

"Hi honey, was there something you needed?" Lisa smiled at him but Greg did a double take at the endearment. He had come for a consult but the endearment piqued his interest. He frowned slightly at her but then took in the pleading look in her eyes to play along and then he knew what was going on.

Anger boiled in Greg's veins. How dare this pretty boy try and date his Lisa? Just because they were in an argument did _not _mean his feelings for her went on a vacation.

He walked around her desk and leaned down, claiming her lips with his and made the kiss painstakingly slow. It sparked desire within them and upon feeling it, they pulled away, lust obvious in each others gaze.

Mr. Burns cleared his throat. "Hi. I'm still here."

Lisa turned to him and introduced them. "Dr. House, this is Mr. Burns, a new donor. He just gave a very big sum to Princeton Plainsboro. Mr. Burns, this is Dr. House, our head of diagnostics and…my boyfriend."

House put a hand on her shoulder and grinned down at her. "You never introduce me as 'your boyfriend'. Why is this time so special?"

"Mr. Burns here was trying to get a date with me tonight." A sharp gaze was sent to Mr. Burns. The man grinned nervously.

"Well, I see that you two are obviously…close. So, I'll take my leave. You'll hear from me soon." He got up and left quickly.

Lisa sighed and relaxed in her chair. "Thank you _so _much for playing along."

House frowned. "I wasn't playing around."

Lisa frowned and looked up at him. "Care to go on a date with me tonight? We still have to discuss certain…things."

Lisa was silent for a few moments before nodding her head. "All right. I'll need someone to watch Thomas for me."

House grinned. "Did you know that Wilson happens to be excellent with kids?"

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James Wilson blinked at House who was standing in front of him impatiently. House had just randomly barged into his office stating that he, James Wilson, boy wonder oncologist would be babysitting Cuddy's kid.

"I have to babysit Cuddy's…kid…who isn't really her kid?" Upon Greg's nod, he sighed. "No, no, no, I'm _not _getting involved with this. This child is already involved with the two of you and Lord knows how he's faired thus far. No, I can't get involved with this child's life."

Greg frowned. "Why not? He'd love you. With your push over personality, terrible spotted ties and 'charming' ways, I can't see why he _wouldn't_ like you. I also don't see why you wouldn't want to meet your soon-to-be-nephew."

Wilson frowned. "You're not his father, and we aren't brothers."

House put a hand to his heart in mock hurt. "Jimmy, you're breaking my heart. I thought…I thought we had a special brotherly bond. Was this all an act?" House gasped. "You only wanted me for sex!"

James closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yes…because Amber isn't my girlfriend, one I've grown very fond of, and I've been madly in love with you for years."

"I knew it!"

"Seriously House, this child doesn't want to meet me." House gave him a calculating look.

"_You _don't want to meet him." he said in a low voice. "You're afraid to meet him."

An annoyed look passed over his face, telling House that he was right.

"You can't run from things you're afraid of forever, Wilson."

James gave him a disbelieving look. "Like you're one to talk."

"I am. I'm facing my fears tonight…and hopefully the rest of my life."

Wilson blinked. "You…you _love _her!" He chuckled. "Oh the irony."

"Shut up, Spot. Now are you going to baby sit Thomas tonight or not?"

Wilson sighed. He really didn't want to. He was afraid that he'd like the child too much and want to see him more often. He was afraid of seeing Thomas as a son because he didn't have one. But if he didn't at least try to do this, Greg would never let him live it down.

"All right, fine," he grumbled and House smiled at him.

"Thanks, Jimbo." He left to go and tell Lisa the good news.

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Around five thirty, Lisa had finally been able to pick up Thomas from the daycare center and bring him home. Lisa had explained to him that she was going out for dinner with Greg to talk about adult things and that a very close friend of theirs would be coming over to watch cartoons with him. When the got in, they both went into the kitchen.

"You hungry?" asked Lisa running a hand through his dark waves. When he nodded, she went to the freezer above the fridge and peered inside. "Hmm…how about I order you pizza?"

Thomas smiled and nodded. "Lisa?"

"Yes, hon?"

"Is your friend nice?"

Lisa nodded as she picked up the phone and dialed the pizzeria. "He's really nice. You'll like him a lot." Once she ordered a cheese pizza, she went into her room with Thomas close behind her.

"Why can't I come with you?"

"Because we'll be talking about adult things. If you want, I'll see if Greg wants to sleepover tonight." Upon Thomas' smile, she took that as a positive and nodded. "All right, Greg is picking me up at six. We should be back around seven." Lisa went over to her dressers to pick out something more comfortable to wear.

"What's your friend's name?"

"James Wilson. He's really nice, Thomas. You'll like him a lot. He's not at all like your dad if that's what you're worried about." When Thomas remained silent, Lisa turned and gave him a sad look. "That's it isn't it?" She took Thomas into a warm embrace. "Honey, no one is ever going to harm you ever again. You trust me right?" When he nodded she smiled. "Then trust me when I say that I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

He was silent for a moment but then nodded. "Okay."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Now, I have a very important question for you." when Thomas remained silent, listening to what she wanted to say, Lisa took a deep breath. "Do you love me?"

Thomas grinned. "Yeah! Do you love me?"

Lisa held back tears. "Yes. I love you very much."

"Yay!" He twirled around in circles until he got too dizzy and had to stop and collapsed on the floor. Lisa giggled at him before continuing what she wanted to tell him. "You know, March 16th is the day we have to go to court and see your father again." When fear came into his eyes, she walked over to him and sat next to him. "I'm not going to give you back, Thomas. I'm telling you this because he's going to jail and then you won't have a father to look after you. How do you feel about staying with me? About me being your new mom?"

Thomas smiled up at her. "Really? You want to be my mommy?" When Lisa nodded he hugged her but didn't let go. "I want you to be my mommy too. Can Greg be my daddy?"

Lisa paused for a moment. "Well…that's what I wanted to ask him tonight. But if he says no, that he just wants to remain as your friend, you can't be upset okay?"

Thomas sighed. "Okay, Mommy." He said it sincerely, making Lisa smile and tears of happiness pricked at her eyes.

After they sat there for another ten minutes, there was a knock at the door, grabbing their attention.

Lisa took Thomas' hand and led him to the door. When she opened it, James Wilson smiled at her and then smiled at Thomas.

"Hi. I hope I'm not too early."

"No, you're just in time actually." She and Thomas stepped back to let him through. He took off his coat and shoes and turned to Thomas, who was eyeing him warily.

"Hi, I'm James." He held out a hand for Thomas to take. The boy looked from his hand to his eyes and slowly took his hand. They shook gently and James smiled at him. "What shows do you like?"

"Batman" was his only answer.

"Well, what a coincidence. I happen to like Batman too. That's why I brought over my Batman movies." He held out three Batman movies, all animated. Lisa raised an eyebrow at him. Obviously he had asked House what the child liked and went out of his way to buy the Batman movies.

There was another knock on the door and this time James answered it. The pizza man stood in the doorway. James turned to Lisa and grinned. "Pizza? Just as you're about to go out?" He took the box and just as Lisa went in her purse to retrieve the money, James reached into his own pocket. "Don't worry about it, I'll get it." He gave the man his money and closed the door.

"The pizza isn't meant for me. It's for you and Thomas. Thank you, by the way. For coming and for paying for the pizza."

James grinned. "No problem." He set down the box and got a plate for himself and Thomas. "Do you want one or two pieces?" he asked to Thomas. Thomas looked at the pizza and pointed to the one he wanted. James got it for him then got two slices for himself.

Lisa had gone to go change into a pair of black jeans and white blouse. She fixed her make up and left her hair down. When she came out, she found Greg already there, talking away with Thomas and James. Thomas laughed at what James had said that made House make a funny face. When Greg looked up and saw her, he grinned at her.

"You're looking _ravishing _this fine evening." The innuendo wasn't missed by Lisa or James.

"Your cane's looking pretty good as well." Her retort made House smile and Wilson blush.

"All right you two, get out of here so Thomas and I can bond and have big kid time."

After they got their coats on, the two headed out. James went back over to the couch and grinned at Thomas. "I hear you're quite the Poker player. Shall we have a game later?"

Thomas nodded and smiled at him. "Can we watch Batman now?"

"Of course."

Yup, this kid was already working his way into his heart. By the time Lisa and Greg came back, he'd want to see Thomas a lot more. James sighed as he pressed the play button. At least he didn't think of Thomas as a son like he thought he would. If the offer still stood, he would love to become 'Uncle James' to Thomas.

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They had gone to La Pointe, where the walls were a plum red and the lights were dimmed to form a romantic atmosphere.

"Wow, I've never been here before," stated Lisa as she looked around the restaurant. Greg grinned at Lisa's approval of the place he'd chosen.

When they were seated and ordered their drinks, House took the opportunity to speak. "Are you ready for the trial?"

Lisa nodded and glanced at him. He was staring at her and managed to hold her gaze for moment. "Yeah," she finally said and smiled to cover her embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm ready. I talked to Thomas about the trial today. He's not quite ready to see his father but if we're there, he should be fine."

House blinked. "We?"

She paused. "Yeah, he's taken a huge liking to you. I think he'd be crushed if you weren't there. Besides, you're the one that set this up. You'd better be there."

"I was going to come whether you liked it or not but…"

"But?"

"It was just strange hearing you say 'we'."

Lisa grinned at him but stayed silent for a moment. She chose what she wanted and put her menu down. "Greg?"

"Hm?" He hadn't looked up from his menu but new he was listening so she continued.

"I've been thinking about what you said a few days ago." When he looked up at her, she looked down at her menu. "And I've come to the conclusion that my home isn't complete without a family. It never has been. You and Thomas have made me realize that you both are special to me and if I lost either of you, a part of me would go with you." She chanced a glance at him and found him looking at her with a soft expression but didn't open his mouth to interrupt. "I'm not asking for marriage but please, stay with us. Thomas loves you…I…love you."

House's eyes widened at her confession. He came here to ask her about staying with her. He was expecting an argument, insults even but Lisa had totally thrown him off guard.

His chest tightened as he processed her last three words. I love you. Three small words had such a large impact on him. He had never been loved for who he was by a woman. Not even Stacy. But Lisa was different; she was special. She saw him for what he was but loved him anyway.

When he remained silent, staring at her, she flushed deeply and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She moved to get up but House grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her seat.

"It's all right. It's not exactly ideal date conversation but since you poured your heart out before I got the chance, it's my turn." He held her gaze with his piercing blue one and refused to let her hand go. "I asked you out on this date to ask you if it would be all right if I lived with you and Thomas. My apartment is…lonely without you and Thomas. He's made a big impact on both of us and now that you've asked me to live with you, I can forget my practiced argument lines and move on in."

Lisa smiled, a big weight lifted off her chest and she relaxed.

"Does this mean we're…you know," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "a couple?"

If the question hadn't hit her so hard, she would have laughed at Greg but she found she could only think about it for a moment. "Well…that's up to you. I'm ready for a relationship but are you?"

Greg stayed silent for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I can try. I won't promise that it'll be smooth sailing, but I assume you already knew that." When Lisa nodded, he continued. "Then for you and Thomas, I'll try."

Lisa smiled at him and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." Greg stayed where he was, frozen to his spot until the waitress came and took their orders.

They talked about anything their minds could come up with. After a while, House did what he did best, and diagnosed the people that he saw with ridiculous illnesses that had Lisa chuckling. She joined in a few times until their food came and they ate in comfortable silence.

When they were almost done, Lisa suddenly remembered what Thomas wanted her to ask. "Oh, Greg. Thomas wanted to know if you could stay the night."

House grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Are you sure it's just Thomas that wants me over? Are you sure the twins don't have any influence in this?" Lisa smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll admit I want you to come over too but it was all Thomas' idea." House grinned and nodded.

"We'll stop by my place so I can get some stuff." he paused for a moment. "Did you want me to start moving in after the trial?"

Lisa shook her head. "No, I think it'd be better if you moved in before the trial. I know it's only in six days but with James' help I'm sure it'll go by quickly."

House scoffed. "Are you forgetting I'm crippled?"

"No, obviously moving guys will be there. I thought they were a given." When Greg rolled his eyes and mimicked her, she chuckled. "You're such a child."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not, infinity." When Lisa stayed silent with a large grin on her face, Greg rolled his eyes. "Right. Childish. Not good on date."

Lisa laughed at him and finished off her food.

The couple left the restaurant and headed for House's apartment so he could grab a change of clothes. The ride was pleasantly silent. When they got House's clothes, they headed back to Lisa's home.

It was now about eight thirty as they pulled up in the driveway. The pair walked up the steps and stepped inside once Lisa unlocked the door. They peered around the corner when they heard nothing but the TV. They sight before them made Lisa's heart melt and House roll his eyes but take out his phone and press the camera option.

The TV was on with Batman on and James lay sprawled out on the couch with Thomas laying on his stomach with his head on his chest. A desk of cards and pretzels lay on the floor. Thomas' side had more than James', indicating they were playing poker and Thomas managed to kick James' ass at it.

House took the picture and stored it into his camera to use as blackmail later on.

Lisa picked up the pretzels and cards and put them away while House picked up Thomas and as carefully as he could, limped into Lisa's room and gently set him in the middle of her bed after moving the blankets and mountain of pillows out of the way.

When he went back out, James' was sitting up with Lisa on the couch beside him.

"Thank you for watching him."

"Any time. He's an amazing child."

House grinned and came into the room. "My offer still stands. I wasn't joking about it."

"What offer?" asked Lisa, raising an eyebrow.

"Jimmy over here's going to be Thomas' Uncle Jimmy."

Lisa smiled and turned to James. "Really?"

James nodded. "I'd like that."

When James Wilson left, Lisa and Greg went into her room and changed into pajama's. Well Lisa did. Greg just stripped down to his boxers. They climbed into bed on either side of Thomas and watched him stir for a moment. His eyes opened and he blinked up at House.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Will you be my new daddy?" The question threw him off a bit but he smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I'll be your new dad."

Thomas smiled and snuggled into Lisa who kissed his head and kept an arm around him. The two adults stared at one another for a few moments before Lisa's eyes started to get heavier until her eyes finally closed.

Greg reached out and stroked her cheek. His chest fluttered at the contact and at the realization that he was so utterly in love with her. The sensation made him smile.

"I love you too," he whispered to her and rolled over onto his other side and closed his eyes, succumbing to sleep.

A small smile formed on Lisa's lips before sleep took over her body.

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**Hope you liked the chapter! Trial is next chapter people, be prepared!**


	11. Happiness

**A/N: I was re-reading this chapter since it was unbetaed and I found mistakes that I couldn't let slide. **

**Since there have been a HUGE turn of events over the last few seasons, in this fic, we're going to ignore those. **

**This is the last instalment for ULV, so I hope you enjoy this! **

**Wednesday March 16**

Rex glared a thousand daggers at Cuddy from the witness stand, sending shivers of unwanted attention running down her spin. Had they been alone and not in the company of a judge and five police officers spread throughout the room, she surely would have been dead the second he laid eyes on her holding his son's hand.

So far the trial was going well. Cuddy and Thomas had already been on the witness stand, and now they were waiting for Rex to finish so the judge could give his verdict. The crown attorney stood when the defence sat down, finished with his questions.

"Is it true, sir, that you went into Princeton Plainsboro Hospital to look for your son?"

Rex frowned but said, "Yes, that's true."

"Is it also true, Mr. Finch, that you were lied to when you asked if Dr. Cuddy had seen your son?"

"Yes."

The crown nodded. "So then it's also true that you were extremely angry with her when you found out she lied."

"….yes."

"Good, good. I would be too. In fact, I'd be so angry, I'd want to hit her. And you did, didn't you?"

"No."

"Don't lie Mr. Finch. You have a record of domestic assault. There's no way you went in there with the knowledge that she lied to you and you didn't do anything about it." he leaned in close to Rex. "What happened Rex? The fact a _woman _outsmarted you, out right _lied _to you, make you so mad you just couldn't resist?"

"The bitch should have stayed in her place!" yelled the bigger man and had to take a breath to calm down. The crown attorney gave him a smug look and leaned away from him.

"If you're willing to strike a woman, I have no doubt in my mind you struck your own son countless times."

"You have no proof of that." he said darkly.

"Actually, I do." the lawyer went over to his table and grabbed a couple pictures and showed them to the judge. "These were taken a couple days ago as evidence. Most of them are gone but the real nasty ones are still there."

"Objection!" the defence lawyer stood.

"Overruled." snapped the judge and took a look at the pictures. His face contorted into a look of disgust. "Do you have anymore questions for Mr. Finch?"

"No more questions, Your Honour."

"Then this court finds Mr. Rex Finch guilty of domestic abuse and sentenced to prison for twenty years, with chance of parole; if Mr Finch shows promising results with a domestic counsellor." once the judge officially made the ruling, two officers cuffed Rex and took him down the aisle first. All the way he was glaring his hatred for Lisa but knowing she won the case, she glared at him right back and put a protective stance between him and Thomas, letting him know that she would do everything in her power to make sure he never got near him again.

When the attorney presented Cuddy with the adoptive papers, a look of surprise passed over her features. "But I thought I had to go through the system first." she said. The lawyer grinned, looked at House for a moment and back at Cuddy.

"Let's just say I owed a favour and pulled some strings."

"Um…thank you." she smiled kindly and when the lawyer left, she turned to House with a questioning look and mouthed through the crowd, "What did you do?" He only shrugged and walked forward so there wasn't anyone between them.

Thomas smiled up at House and took his free hand in his so they could walk hand in hand together.

**One Month Later**

"Thomas, come eat break feast or you'll be late for school!" called Lisa. It was eight in the morning and although the papers she had read and signed the day she got them hadn't been approved by the system yet, he was allowed to live with her and she was permitted to enrol him in school so his education didn't falter. Her and House's relationship had gotten a lot more intimate to the point there he stayed over for days at a time. To avoid suspicion from other doctors and board members, Wilson came every morning to pick up House and Thomas to drive him to school and then drive to work so the couple would arrive to work at different times.

Within moments of her calling him, she could hear loud giggles and a door kicked aside. House came around the corner with Thomas slung over one hip like a slack of potatoes. "Mom, what's for break feast!" Thomas asked in a mocking deep voice that made him giggle even more.

"You're going to have rotten cheese if you try to put a hanger up my nose again." said House in a mock serious voice.

Cuddy laughed and took the giggling boy from House's arm. "You're having fruit loops." she replied and sat him down. Then she turned to the man of her interest and put her arms around his neck. "And what would this big boy like to eat for break feast?"

House gave her a sly look and made sure Thomas wasn't looking when he brought her hips closer to his so she could feel him get excited and grabbed her ass. "What I had for dessert last night."

Cuddy didn't get a chance to answer because the door bell rang a few moments later, causing Thomas to yell "Uncle Jimmy!" and run to open the door. The two left standing in the kitchen shared a kiss and then went to greet the man that made their lives a hell of a lot easier.

"Hey buddy, I hear today's your first day of school."

"Yeah! Mommy said I get to bring my Batman toys but I have to bring them home."

"Well that would certainly be a good idea."

"Yeah. Do you want some cereal? Mommy made it." James laughed and patted his head but declined the offer, saying that he had already eaten his break feast.

"Alright, lets get you to school mister man." said House. He kissed Lisa on the cheek and waited until she said goodbye to her soon-to-be-son to take him to school.

When the three got to the school, he walked Thomas to the door where a teacher was waiting to welcome him in. "Alright little man, remember what I told you."

"Get to the best toys first, don't share unless the teacher says so and eat my lunch before the kids ask for any." Thomas recited.

"Right, now remember what you're mother said."

"Be polite, share, and ask the teacher if she needs any help with anything at all." with a confused look on his face, he asked, "but you said not to share."

"I'd say listen to me but you should probably listen to your mother on this one. Oh and if someone bothers you in any way…"

"I tell the teacher and then tell you."

"Right." he stood up straight and Thomas hugged around his legs. "See you after school."

"Okay." Thomas said smiling and ran into the classroom.

House lingered for a moment with a smile on his face. Although Thomas wasn't from his blood and he and Lisa hadn't gone public yet, this was what he was missing in his life. The pride and love that quickly swelled up in his chest when his boy said hello to his teacher without hesitation and only one more wave good bye before the door closed, made him feel that the misery he had gone through all these years was worth it. Knowing that he had a woman and a boy to come home to at the end of the day made everything worth it.

A honk from James' car brought House back from his thoughts and he reluctantly returned to reality where he had a dying patient and his girlfriend was his boss at work.

"So Jimbo, what do you say you get a girlfriend, have a kid and our boys can grow up together." said House once he got into the car.

"Boys? What makes you think my first born will be a boy?" asked James as he drove off towards the hospital.

"Who else will my kid annoy and torment if not your male offspring? If that boy learns anything from me, it's how to be annoying to his best friend. And he can only have one. Yours. Because if he's anything like you he'll stick by Thomas through everything."

Wilson gave House a look and gently said, "That almost sounds sweet but lets hope he doesn't learn that trait from you. God save my children."

"God will laugh."

"I wouldn't doubt it. Why else would he have allowed me to suffer with you for so long."

"He likes me more."

"Shut up House." but James couldn't help the grin from forming on his lips.

Greg smiled and said nothing more. He was happy. He had a best friend, a girlfriend he was quickly growing more and more affection for with each passing day and a boy he called his son regardless of the fact he was legally more so Lisa's. Happiness was definitely a feeling Gregory House could get used to.

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**Thank you for reading and I thank all of you who have alerted, faved, reviewed or even just stuck with the story. Again I apologize for the long wait and the errors but it's finally done. **

**Thank you for you support and I wish you happy reading.**

**Inu-m **


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